tihvaty  of  Che  t:heological  ^tminavy 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 

Gift  of 
Samuel  Agnew,  Esq. 
1881 


BX    4810    .M5E1846 

Miller,    John. 

The  design  of  the  church 


DESIGN   OF  THE  CHURCH 


THE 


DESIGN  OF  THE  CHURCH, 


/ 


AS  AN  INDEX  TO 


HER   REAL   NATURE 


THE  TRUE  LAW  OF  HER  COMMUNION. 


BY    JOHN'MILLER, 


PASTOR  OF  THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  IN  FREDERICK,  MD. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
JAMES  M.  CAMPBELL,  98  CHESTNUT  STREET. 

NEW  YORK:    SAXTON  AND  MILES,  205  BROABWAY. 

'1846. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1846, 

By  James  M.  Campbell, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Eastern  District  of 

Pennsylvania. 


C.    SHERMAN,    PRINTER, 

19  St.  James  Street. 


CONTEIs'TS.     •  %vr.*- 


Introduction,  -  -  -  -  1^ 

CPIAPTER  I. 
The  Principle  of  Design,  -  -  -        33 

CHAPTER  II. 
The  Design  of  Religion,         -  -  -  61 

CHAPTER  III. 
The  Design  of  Externals  in  Religion,    -  -        72 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Design  of  an  External  Church,  -  90 

CHAPTER  V. 

Danger  of  Attributing  to  Externals  Certain 

Spurious  Designs,   -  -  -  -      103 

1* 


VI  ♦  CONTENTS.  j# 

CHAPTER  VI. 
A  Spurious  Design  of  Certain  Externals,  119 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  True  Doctrine  of  Church  Communion,  Ar- 
gued from  the  Design  of  an  External 
Church,  .  -  -  -  171 


pbhtcetoh 

THE0L0CIC4L 

P  R  EFTCli. 


The  world  has  had  three  grand  lessons,  each  lasting 
about  two  thousand  years,  bearing  on  a  single  point  of 
the  church's  creed  ;  and,  as  if  to  keep  the  three  always 
and  distinctly  with  us,  three  grand  monuments  remain : 
the  wrecks  of  institutions  out  of  the  history  of  which  these 
lessons  have  been  brought.  Poor  a  learner  as  the  world 
always  is,  still,  it  is  an  idea  specially  hard  to  bear,  that 
such  lessons  have  gone  for  nothing,  and  that  He  who 
alone  is  worthy  to  open  the  book  of  Providence,  or  to 
look  thereon,  has  loosed  already  a  fourth  seal,  and  is 
busy  unwinding  the  roll  again,  and  pointing  in  the  dim 
future  to  a  fourth  wreck,  a  monument  for  another  age. 

1.  God  gave  to  Adam  after  the  fall  a  pure  religion.  It 
grew  corrupt.     The  main  form  of  its  corruption  was, 

THE  EXALTING  OF  EXTERNALS,  tO  the    nCgleCt  of    tWO  faCtS, 

that  God  is  a  Spirit,  and  that  He  can  be  worshipped  only 
with  the  spirit.  It  grew  more  and  more  corrupt,  as  the 
dividing  families  of  men  carried  it  abroad  into  the  places 
of  their  dispersion,  till  it  had  secured  for  the  world, 
through  all  after  history,  that  vast  preponderance  of 
heathenism,  against  which  Christianity  is  toiling  yet. 

2.  Nearly  two  thousand  years  later,  God  gave  to 
Abraham  a  pure  religion,  a  religion  having  the  advan- 
tage now  of  past  example  ;  guarded  by  the  calling  of 


8  PREFACE. 

Abram  out  from  among  those  fathers  beyond  the  flood 
who  served  other  gods  ;^  having  the  warning  of  God 
Himself  out  of  Sinai, — "  Thou  shalt  not  bow  down  to 
their  gods,  nor  serve  them,  nor  do  after  their  works  :  but 
thou  shalt  utterly  overthrow  them,  and  quite  break  down 
their  images,"^  and  having  a  memento,  in  the  very  wreck 
of  a  past  religion,  of  the  precise  nature  and  hard  result 
of  such  apostacy.  In  spite  of  all,  it  grew  corrupt.  The 
main  form  of  its  corruption  was,  the  exalting  of  exter- 
nals, precisely  as  before.  It  grew  more  and  more  cor- 
rupt, till  first  the  images  of  Baal  and  the  fires  of  Moloch, 
the  gods  of  the  nations  in  whose  land  it  dwelt,  had 
gathered  to  them  more  worshippers  than  God,  and  then, 
after  the  Captivity,  when  foreign  idolatry  was  cast  away, 
its  own  rites  had  claimed  their  turn  in  the  superstition — 
the  Pharisee,  that  embodiment  of  the  whole  corruption, 
had  appeared,  and  trust  to  mere  externals  had  become 
general  enough  to  find  a  place  in  alleged  divine  tradition 
for  the  rule,  "  No  circumcised  man  can  perish." 

3.  About  two  thousand  years  from  Abraham,  God 
gave  by  Jesus  Christ  a  pure  religion ;  still  with  the  warn- 
ing, "  Flee  from  idolatry,"'^  "  Little  children,  keep  your- 
selves from  idols  ;"'^  and  now,  with  two  monuments,  pre- 
sent in  all  lands,  wherever  it  might  turn,  the  wreck  of 
oral  religion,  in  the  heathenism  of  the  world,  and  the 
wreck  of  Abraham's  religion,  in  its  Judaism. 

Precisely,  as  if  these  costly  lessons  of  forty  centuries 
had  been  on  some  other  planet,  and  our  first  experiment 
in  rehgion  opened  with  the  Christian  era,  it  grew  cor- 
rupt again.  The  main  form  of  its  corruption  was  the 
exalting   of    externals,  without  a  shade  of  essential 

=>  Josh.  xxiv.  2.    b  Ex.  xxiii.  24.      ^  j  Cor.  x.  14.     ^  1  John  v.  21. 


PREFACE. 


difference  between  this  instance  of  it  and  the  last.  It 
grew  more  and  more  corrupt,  and  even  faster  than  be- 
fore, so  that  in  less  than  two  thousand  years  baptism  had 
taken  the  place  of  circumcision,  as  a  saving  rite,  and 
birth  in  the  church  of  a  birth  from  Abraham,  as  a  saving 
birth,  and  wafer,  and  wine,  and  penance  of  the  "  blood 
of  bullocks,"  and  "  the  fat  of  fed  beasts,"  and  of  the  "  new- 
moons,  and  sabbaths,  and  calling  of  assemblies,"  as,  in 
themselves,  of  saving  efficacy ;  differing,  it  is  true,  in  de- 
tail of  doctrine,  but  bringing  up  to  our  minds  the  same 
essential  principles — direct  efficiency,  and  absolute  neces- 
sity of  certain  externals  in  salvation. 

4.  Fifteen  centuries  from  Christ,  God  gave  back  the 
same  religion  by  the  hand  of  Luther,  and  the  men  of  that 
reformation — men  who,  into  whatever  country  they 
might  go,  to  restore  the  written  word,  and  to  attack  the 
reigning  superstition,  had  now  three  monuments  at  hand 
to  attest  the  value  of  their  errand  : — the  wreck  of  the 
first  religion,  (heathenism,)  the  wreck  of  Abraham's 
religion,  (Judaism,)  and  a  wreck  of  Christianity,  in  the. 
religion  of  Rome.  What  has  been  the  result?  Alas! 
strange  as  it  is  that,  among  a  hundred  roads  to  ruin,  the 
world  should  be  always  choosing  one ;  strange  as  it  is 
that  an  error,  narrow  and  singled  out,  like  this,  and  re- 
impressed  upon  the  memories  of  all  by  the  heaviest 
curses  that  our  race  has  felt,  should  lift  its  head,  once 
more,  and  show  its  old  familiar  features,  and  men  not 
shrink  from  it  with  quick  fear,  or  attack  it  with  liveliest 
jealousy  ; — strange  as  this  is — the  religion  reformed  in 
the  time  of  Luther,  is  growing  corrupt  again.  The  main 
form  of  its  corruption  is,  the  exalting  of  externals.  It 
is  growing  more  and  more  corrupt ;  no  longer,  blessed 
be  God,  in  one  corrupting  mass,  but  in  members  stand- 


10  ^  PREFACE. 

ing  aloof  from  the  rest  in  doctrine  and  government, — 
standing  aloof,  and  yet  dear  to  us,  by  virtue  of  the  family 
name,  and  for  their  share  in  the  early  struggles  of  our 
common  Protestantism. 

What  is  to  be  done  ?  To  take  up  the  cold  instruments 
of  reasoning,  and  begin  to  challenge  and  refute,  is  cheer- 
less business.  History,  since  the  vi^orld  began,  turning 
over  that  one  error,  and  showing  it  in  a  thousand  phases, 
has  defined  it  a  thousand-fold  more  clearly  than  the  best 
chosen  form  of  words.  God,  out  of  heaven,  blasting  it 
with  curses,  wherever  it  has  raised  its  head,  has  argued 
against  it  with  such  light  and  power,  that  there  seems 
nothing  left  for  human  demonstration.  Nay,  all,  the  most 
pure  of  mankind,  at  three  successive  periods  of  the  world, 
and  after  near  twenty  centuries  of  trial  and  rebuke,  call- 
ing up  the  error  before  their  minds,  in  its  single  narrow- 
ness, have  openly  recanted  it,  and  left  their  experience 
on  record,  for  the  benefit  of  all  after  time.  What  can  be 
done  more  ?  Where  has  error  risen  nearer  to  the  point 
(if  there  be  one),  where  truth  may  rest  from  the  toil  and 
strife  of  argument,  and  deal  only  in  calm  denunciation  ? 
,  What  can  be  done  !  All  that  Elijah  did,  patiently  bear- 
ing testimony,  and  arguing  on ; — all  that  Elijah  did,  when, 
though  the  Shekinah  was  yet  in  Jerusalem,  and  miracles, 
clearly  giving  witness  to  the  one  spiritual  Jehovah,  were 
yet  in  Israel,  still  "  Baal's  prophets  were  four  hundred 
and  fifty  men," — patiently  bearing  testimony,  "  if  the 
Lord  be  God,  follow  Him,  and,  if  Baal,  then  follow 
him,"  and  cheerfully  oflering  appropriate  proof,  "  The 
God  that  answereth  by  fire,  let  him  be  God."^ 

Two  things  may  be   done.     Two  aims  ought  to  be 

»  1  Kings  18. 


PREFACE.  1 1 

kept  steadily  in  view  by  all  that  is  still  purely  Protes- 
tant:— 

1.  To  draw  a  clear  line  between  itself  and  this  pecu- 
liar error;  not  to  listen  when  men  suggest  that  the  differ- 
ence is  all  in  words,  but  rather  to  remember  that  there 
must  be  some  insidious  charm  by  which  so  notorious  an 
evil  has  every  where  yet  succeeded  in  stealing  in,  and  that 
these  very  suggestions  may  be  part  of  it,  and,  therefore, 
to  fix  the  boundary,  and  keep  it  visible,  and  to  hold  all 
that  is  yet  untainted  aloof  from  the  first  symptoms  of  the 
error,  with  the  same  necessary  care  that  we  would  shun 
leprosy. 

2.  To  arrange  fundamental  arguments  against  the 
heresy ;  I  mean  by  that,  arguments  reaching  in  for  their 
proof  to  the  very  vitals  of  the  gospel.  They  are  quicker 
and  surer.  Every  thing  that  prolongs  debate  between  so 
strong  a  thing  as  Christ's  religion,  and  so  weak  a  thing 
as  this  corruption  of  it,  subtracts  respect  from  the  former, 
and  adds  it  to  the  latter.  The  errorist  knows  the  fact, 
and,  therefore,  is  ever  busy  in  dealing  with  minor  evi- 
dences. The  advocate  of  truth  ought  to  know  it,  and  to 
be  ever  drawing  his  opponent  back  to  what  is  chief  and 
central ;  remembering  that  he  is  not  meeting  the  untried 
perplexities  of  something  new,  but  trying  to  despatch, 
with  the  strongest  hand,  and  with  the  clearest  head,  and 
as  briefly  as  he  can,  an  error  so  old  and  thoroughly  ex- 
ploded, as  that  the  hardest  effort  of  intellect  in  it,  is  not 
to  prove  it  false,  but  to  know  how,  after  it  has  been  proved 
so  a  thousand  times,  it  still  manages  to  appear  again. 
The  minor  evidences,  among  which  may  be  instanced 
isolated  texts  of  Scripture,  are  as  strong  as  any  other,  if 
we  can  make  them  positive,  for  proof  is  proof,  no  matter 
how  trivial  its  subject-matter;  but  there  precisely  is  the 


12  PREFACE. 

difficulty.  In  trying  to  make  them  positive,  we  spend 
time  that  might  have  been  enough,  perhaps,  for  deahng 
■with  the  whole  circle  of  higher  proof.  Poor  as  its  cause 
may  be,  we  throw  ourselves  down  on  a  level  with  the 
error  we  oppose,  and,  in  the  end,  rather  increase  than 
abate  the  confidence  of  the  people  in  its  claims.  An 
isolated  text,  if  positive,  is  conclusive,  and  there  is  an 
end  of  all  strife ;;  but  the  moment  it  is  proved  to  be  not 
so,  as,  perhaps,  most  single  texts  may  be,  and  by  that  is 
meant  to  be  not  shut  up  to  a  single  meaning,  and  no 
more ;  that  moment  a  debate  over  it  proves  itself  to  be 
interminable,  and  every  step  further  in  it  is  but  a  sacri- 
fice of  the  truth,  by  how  much  it  is  made  to  seem  no 
better  than  error,  when  at  issue  with  it  in  a  debate,  of 
necessity,  endless.  It  should  be  one  of  the  practical 
marks,  therefore,  of  pure  religion,  that  she  makes  her 
appeal  from  the  very  first  to  the  broader  principles  of 
the  gospel. 

Such  must  be  her  chosen  ends. 

To  the  two,  the  book  that  follows  is  intended  as  a 
respectful  contribution,  and  it  is  humbly  consecrated  to 
God,  the  God  and  Father  of  our  common  Protestantism, 
the  one  only  pure  and  primitive  religion,  with  the  prayer 
that  it  may  be  useful ;  but  with  the  more  especially  fer- 
vent prayer  that,  if  not  useful,  it  may,  at  least,  be  kept 
from  the  list  of  cases  in  which  that  religion  has  been 
most  deeply  wounded  by  its  sincerest  friends. 

J.  M. 

Frederick,  Md.,  Dec.  30th,  1845. 


INTRODUCTION. 


I.  Where  is  the  spirit  of  ancient  paganism  ?  If  the 
Scripture  be  true,  "  as  in  water,  face  answereth  to  face ; 
so  the  heart  of  man  to  man  ;"^  what  has  become  of  that 
corruption  of  the  heart  which  once  filled  the  world  with 
idols'?  From  the  Bible,  and  from  uninspired  history, 
and  from  the  accounts  that  come  to  us  of  heathenism  as 
it  lasts  on  to  our  own  time,  it  has  given  ample  proof  that 
it  is  one  of  the  chief  of  human  sins.  It  has  shown  itself 
not  to  be  the  creature  of  circumstances,  or  superinduced 
only  by  external  causes ;  but  to  be  that  which  springs 
up  naturally,  and  cherishes  itself  in  the  heart,  even 
against  influences  from  without. 

Where  is  it?  what  shape  has  it  taken  among  our- 
selves? That  which,  in  all  other  times  and  among 
every  other  people,  has  been  the  crying  fault  of  these 
hearts  of  ours — the  most  prolific  in  judgments  upon  our 
race,  and  the  strongest  in  ripening  the  seeds  of  general 
corruption — cannot  be  altogether  dead  and  ended  among 
us  now. 

Its  main  element,  too — the  elevation  of  the  external 
to  the  place  of  the  spiritual— the  endowment  of  matter 
with  such  a  relation  to  deity  as  that  body  may  do  the 
work  of  soul,— however  not  to  be  expected  to  appear 

*  Prov.  xxvii.  19. 

2 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

again,  on  the  ground  of  its  folly,  and  its  often  detected 
folly,  still  might  be  confidently  expected  to  appear  again 
in  every  land,  whether  pagan  or  Christian,  on  that  best 
of  all  grounds,  the  ground  of  experience.  Each  sepa- 
rate page  in  the  annals  of  the  world,  being,  as  all  history 
is,  but  the  history  of  the  human  soul,  gives  w^arrant  to 
this  as  no  presumption.  The  spirit  that  framed  the  old 
mythologies,  and  then  gave  them  such  iron  power  over 
the  hearts  of  men — that  debased  itself  so  low  in  searching 
for  its  deities  among  the  very  meanest  of  the  works  of 
God ; — the  spirit  that  gave  our  own  fathers  their  lesson 
in  Druid  rites  and  human  sacrifices,  and  that  still  carves 
its  idols,  and  rears  its  altars  among  the  heathen,  and 
lights  their  funeral  fires,  and  guides  their  cruel  pilgrim- 
ages, must  have  something  to  answer  to  it  here  among 
ourselves. 

What  a  call  for  searching  into  the  purity  of  our 
churches  !  expressly,  too,  with  our  eye  upon  that  which 
is  the  peculiar  province  of  the  evil — the  visible  part  of 
our  religion. 

It  will  not  do  to  say  that  idolatry  is  the  impiety  of  an 
ignorant  age,  and  that  therefore  the  call  for  jealousy 
over  ourselves  in  the  use  of  what  is  outward  is  set  aside 
by  the  light  which  the  church  possesses.  For  if  the 
secular  intelligence  of  men  is  the  light  that  is  intended, 
experience  will  make  it  a  question,  whether  it  do  not 
increase  the  danger.  "  The  world  by  wisdom  knew^  not 
God,"''  and  He  has  seen  fit  to  bring  this  to  the  proof  by 
making  the  wisdom  of  the  world  but  a  tool  in  debasing 
its  religion.  It  is  a  notorious  fact  that  in  most  countries 
the  advancement  of  letters,  and  the  degrading  of  w^or- 
ship  have  gone  hand  in  hand.  Egypt  became  the  cradle 
»  1  Cor.  i.  21. 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

of  science,  only  to  fasten  upon  her  popular  faith  the 
worst  absurdities — that  leeks  and  onions,  cats  and  dogs 
and  crocodiles,  must  be  adored  as  deities.  The  idolatry 
of  Greece  seems  to  have  kept  pace  in  vileness  and 
obscenity  with  the  advance  of  her  philosophy;  and 
Rome,  through  the  progress  of  her  arms  and  under  the 
growing  light  of  her  Augustan  age,  only  learned,  by 
borrowing  from  abroad,  and  by  inventing  at  home,  to 
multiply  and,  so,  degrade  the  modes  and  objects  of  her 
worship. 

The  fact  is,  an  ordered  system  of  mythology,  in  its 
more  minute  and,  of  course,  more  degrading  detail,  seems 
to  require  some  degree  of  light  to  give  it  birth  and  sta- 
bility. Oar  own  aborigines  and  most  other  savage 
tribes  approach  nearer  a  low  form  of  natural  religion  than 
the  most  cultivated  nations,  not  evangelized.  The  Great 
Spirit  of  the  American  Indian,  and  He  is  but  a  type  of 
the  God  belonging  generally  to  that  grade  of  civilization, 
may  be  looked  upon  as  a  noble  conception  of  the  Al- 
mighty, when  contrasted  with  the  faith  of  more  en- 
lightened races. 

No ;  learning,  though  of  right  and  by  legitimate  ten- 
dency the  handmaid  of  religion,  yet  has  proved  herself, 
under  the  force  of  depravity,  its  frequent  and  worst 
seducer. 

If,  however,  it  be  pleaded  that  the  true  religion — that 
kind  of  intelligence — when  once  it  secures  a  foothold, 
must  preclude  for  the  time  the  revival  of  idolatry,  it  may 
be  asked,  how  was  it  in  the  land  of  Israel?  There, 
clearly,  the  two  dwelt  together  upon  the  same  soil,  the 
light  of  the  one,  bright  as  it  was,  scarcely  ever  dispel- 
ling the  gross  darkness  of  the  other.  Perhaps  it  would 
not  to  be  too  strong  to  say  that  idolatry  was  the  dominant 


16  INTRODUCTION. 

religion  of  the  people,  through  their  whole  history,  from 
Egypt  to  Babylon.  The  high-places,  and  the  house  of 
Baal,  stood,  generation  after  generation,  hardly  beyond 
the  shadow  of  the  house  of  God,  while  the  best  consola- 
tion found  for  Elijah,  and  that,  probably,  not  at  the  worst 
time  in  the  history  of  the  tribes,  was :  "  I  have  left  me 
seven  thousand  in  Israel,  all  the  knees  which  have  not 
bowed  unto  Baal  and  every  mouth  which  hath  not 
kissed  him."^  Then,  if  the  Israelites,  with  miracle,  and 
"  the  cloudy  presence"  and  the  "  open  vision"  still  among 
them,  could  find  in  their  hearts  a  principle  strong  enough 
to  seduce  them  to  the  lowest  image-worship,  either 
human  hearts  have  changed,  or  that  principle  must  still 
be  looked  for  counterworking  our  own  religion. 

Men  may  say  that  it  now  takes  the  form  of  spiritual 
idolatry,  i.  e.,  the  worship  of  time  and  sense,  such,  for 
example,  as  that  "  covetousness  which  is  idolatry  f^  but, 
let  it  be  remembered,  this  form  existed  then,  as  now, 
and  yet  did  not  supplant  the  other.  They  were  pointed 
at  and  rebuked  together.  They  are  difterent  evils,  be- 
gotten of  different  principles.  One  looks  at  present 
good ;  the  other  at  final  safety ;  the  last  a  positive  wor- 
ship, the  first  only  figuratively  so.  The  one  then  will 
answer  badly  for  the  other  in  meeting  the  calls  of  the 
heart.  They  are  mutually  necessary.  Literal  idolatry 
is  good  to  quiet  conscience,  that  spiritual  idolatry  may 
be  undisturbed;  for  only  set  up  a  false  worship,  and 
God  and  mammon  can  be  best  served  together. 

Let  me  notice  one  more  objection  to  the  idea  that 
there  are  the  strongest  a  priori  grounds  for  anticipating 
the  infection  of  our  churches  with  idolatry.  The  Chris- 
tian religion  does  not  furnish  that  hold  for  the  evil  that 

»  1  Kings  xix.  18.  ^  Col.  iii.  5. 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

the  Jewish  religion  did.  Their  ritual  was  full,  and 
therefore  more  exposed  than  ours.  The  ceremonial  law 
presented  a  hundred  points  where  temptation  might 
attack  it.  While  the  gospel  is  so  thoroughly  spiritual, 
and  clothes  itself  in  so  httle  that  is  fleshly,  that  idolatry 
has  scarce  any  thing  on  which  to  fasten. 

In  reply,  the  question  occurs  at  once,  has  God  left 
any  rites  to  the  Christian  system '?  If  not,  we  look  else- 
where for  the  evil.  If  He  has,  there  is  the  point  to 
which  suspicion  must  be  directed.  The  Jew  exalted  his 
own  rites  till  they  became  idolatrous ;  do  we  the  same  1 
The  Jew  added  to  his  own  the  rites  of  Baal ;  is  it  so  at 
all  with  us?  The  burden  of  ceremony  laid  upon  the 
church  in  the  days  of  her  novitiate  has  left  scarcely  any 
thing  behind  it,  but  two  plain,  unostentatious  obser- 
vances ;  for  Christ,  as  if  at  once  to  rebuke  and  prevent 
the  hope  of  salvation  by  external  means,  has  brought 
down  the  ritual  binding  upon  us  to  the  very  lowest  ex- 
treme of  familiar  simplicity.  Still  here,  however  less 
excusable  superstition  has  become  —  here  is  sphere 
enough  for  the  temptation.  The  spirit  that  turned  God's 
rite  of  sacrifice  into  an  idolatrous  channel,  and  made 
the  perverted  rite  the  pervading  idolatry  of  the  world, 
bringing  so  much  heathenism  out  of  so  small  a  reve- 
lation, might  easily  find  in  these  enough  for  like  unhal- 
lowed purposes.  The  two  sacraments,  of  baptism  and 
the  Lord's  supper,  and,  associated  with  these,  the  ex- 
ternal order  of  the  church,  might  be  anticipated  as  ral- 
lying points  of  superstition;  about  which  idolatrous 
regards  would  always  cluster,  and  to  which  new  rites 
and  vain  appendages  would  be  added  to  help  out  the 
system  of  delusion. 

II.  What,  in  these  days,  is  the  force  and  use  of  the 

9* 


18  INTRODUCTION. 

second  commandment  1  Certainly  not  to  meet  merely 
that  one  narrow  superstition — image-worship.  This 
idea  is  forbidden  as  well  by  the  analogy  of  the  second 
with  the  rest  of  the  ten,  as  by  the  common  habit  of 
scripture.  One  overt  act  of  sin  stands  as  the  type  of 
many,  and  represents  that  whole  principle  of  evil  from 
which  it  is  seen  to  spring.  What  is  the  province,  then, 
of  this  commandment  in  its  bearing  upon  us  1  That 
God  has  thought  it  constant  enough  in  application  to 
make  it  one  of  a  decalogue  so  framed  as  to  meet  all  duty 
and  to  forbid  all  sin,  warrants  us  in  two  conclusions — 
first,  that  it  occupies  the  whole  ground  of  false  worship, 
and  challenges  in  every  form  the  superstitious  misuse  of 
ordinances ;  and  second,  that  the  very  space  it  fills  in  the 
law  declares  a  tendency  to  this  misuse  to  be  one  of  the 
cardinal  corruptions  of  our  nature. 

Here,  therefore,  coming  up  in  another  shape,  is  more 
evidence  for  the  need  of  jealousy  over  our  souls  in  set- 
tling that  part  of  our  faith  which  regards  the  rites  and 
order  of  the  visible  church. 

The  fact  is,  a  reliance  upon  external  ordinances  has 
in  it  all  the  moral  elements  of  idolatry  strictly  defined, 
i.  e.,  image-worship.  An  intelligent  advocate  of  the 
error  may  tell  you  that  none  of  his  adoration  terminates 
on  the  ordinance,  and  that  its  necessity  is  only  as  a 
channel  of  grace  from  God ;  but  so  will  an  intelligent 
idolater  explain  what  he  does  before  his  idol.  It  is  not 
his  deity,  but  only  the  shrine  that  hides  the  real  object  of 
his  worship.  Many  heathen  have  been  wise  enough  to 
see  in  the  wide  polytheism  of  their  countrymen,  only 
varied  forms  for  shadowing  forth  one  Infinite  Spirit. 
Does  this  excuse  the  system?  Talk  with  the  ignorant 
in  either  case,  and  you  will  find  that  matter,  whether  as 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

rite  or  image,  if  looked  upon  as  supernaturally  endued, 
or  invariably  accompanied  with  the  power  of  God, 
gathers  upon  itself  some  at  least  of  the  adoration  that  it 
engages  to  hand  on  to  Him. 

That  much  of  the  essence  of  the  Gospel  goes  with 
these  abuses,  cannot  so  sanctify  them  as  to  change  their 
nature.  A  mixture  of  truth  cannot  erase  the  strong 
lines  of  their  resemblance  to  pagan  ceremonies.  They 
are  alike  in  this  very  feature,  aside  from  others,  viz.,  that 
there  is  present  with  them  only  partial  error.  What 
superstition  can  you  find,  not  grafted  upon  some  truth? 
for,  in  the  nature  of  things,  none  can  be  purely  false. 
The  meanest  idol  has  clustering  around  it  many  just 
ideas  of  God — His  power — His  ability  to  save  or  to 
destroy — the  hope  of  his  rewarding  those  that  diligently 
seek  Him. 

The  common  mode  of  ministering  to  the  idol,  i.  e.,  by 
sacrifice,  is  but  a  truly  primitive  rite  perverted.  In  many 
diverse  forms,  on  the  smoking  altar,  on  the  funeral 
pyre,  in  the  lacerating  scourge,  in  rack  and  cell  and 
pilgrimage,  it  ever  points  to  the  idea  of  atonement  sha- 
dowed forth  in  that  divinely  appointed  and  earliest  cere- 
mony. So  of  the  rites  of  cleansing ;  the  Hindoo,  wash- 
ing away  his  sins  in  the  holy  Ganges,  is  but  toiling  in 
the  distance  in  dim  traditionary  light  after  the  fountain 
opened  for  sin  and  uncleanness ;  and  whether  he  bor- 
rows what  he  does  from  the  "  divers  washings"  of  the 
Jews,  or  invents  it  from  his  own  sight  of  its  appropriate- 
ness, still  there  is  truth  in  it.  Indeed,  there  must  be 
truth  in  error,  to  make  it  possible  that  it  be  believed,  or 
just  to  punish  it;  "  for  the  wrath  of  God  is  revealed  from 
heaven  against  all  ungodliness,  and  unrighteousness  of 
men,  who  hold  the  truth  in  unrighteousness;   because 


20  INTRODUCTION. 

that  which  may  be  known  of  God  is  manifest  in  them ; 
for  God  hath  shewed  it  unto  tliem" — "  so  that  they  are 
without  excuse.  Because  that  when  they  knew  God, 
they  glorified  him  not  as  God," — "  but  became  vain  in 
their  imaginations" — "  and  changed  the  glory  of  the 
uncorruptible  God  into  an  image  made  like  to  corrupti- 
ble man,  and  to  birds  and  fourfooted  beasts  and  creep- 
ing things."* 

The  path  of  this  idolatry,  therefore,  starts  from  the 
very  door  of  the  Christian  church.  The  Christian  who 
clothes  matter,  or  men  in  holy  office,  with  the  power  of 
God,  beyond  all  scripture  warrant,  making  them  divine 
vehicles  or  channels  of  salvation,  when  scripture  does 
not  make  them  so,  is  not  only  wrong,  but  wrong  like  the 
heathen.  No  matter  how  he  wraps  up  with  mystery  the 
grand  doctrines  of  our  creed,  his  heresy  has  the  great 
features  of  idol-worship ;  the  brutal  pagan,  whose  spi- 
ritual lot  he  pities,  and  whose  folly  he  abhors,  is  his 
brother,  by  a  birth  less  disgraceful,  because  less  guilty, 
in  the  same  family  of  error. 

III.  But  a  still  louder  warning  to  look  well  how  we 
settle  our  faith  as  to  the  externals  of  religion,  rises  from 
the  fact  that  the  suspicions  on  whose  weight  we  have 
been  insisting,  have  actually  been  realized.  Those  re- 
flected from  the  idolatry  of  other  races,  showing  how 
invariably  every  where  else  the  soul  has  been  betrayed, 
and  those  reflected  from  the  table  of  the  law,  showing 
how  the  Creator  of  the  soul  foresaw  the  danger  of  pre- 
cisely such  betrayal,  yield  in  strength,  perhaps,  to  those 
made  necessary  by  the  appearance  of  the  evil  in  the 
bosom  of  the  church. 

And   by  this  it  is  not   meant   to   take   for   granted 

^  Rom.  i.  19—23. 


INTRODUCTION. 


21 


charges  which  it  is  our  very  work  to  prove,  or  at  all  to 
build  any  thing  upon  the  extent  to  which  superstition 
has  grown  among  us,  or  the  number  of  points  around 
which  it  has  centred.  Appeal  shall  go  no  farther  than 
confession  as  made  by  all,  viz.,  that  the  visible  church 
has  been  infected  by  idolatry.  Where,— may  be  a 
matter  of  controversy ;  but  the  fact  itself  scarce  any 
one  will  deny. 

For  example,  take  out  the  single  class  of  ultra  Ro- 
manists, and  all  others  will  admit  that  that  church  is 
more  or  less  infected.  The  sincere  and  thinking  part 
of  her  communion  will  point  to  many  practices,  if  not  as 
sanctioned  by  her  ghostly  head,  yet  as  indulged  in  by 
her  more  corrupt  and  ignorant  members,  especially  in 
new  stations  among  races  newly  reclaimed  from  heathen- 
ism, which  they  will  willingly  give  up  as  amenable  to 
the  charge  that  has  been  made ;  while  all  other  churches, 
grade  after  grade  in  departure  from  Rome,  will  accuse 
her  as  wide  from  the  simplicity  of  Christ,  or  as  wholly 
given  up  to  idolatry.  Nay,  it  would  seem  that  no  ex- 
ception need  be  made  even  of  the  blindest  and  most  de- 
graded under  the  papacy.  For,  bring  all  the  eastern 
churches  into  the  account,  with  the  mutual  recrimina- 
tions of  the  whole  in  the  west  and  east,  and  there  seems 
little  risk  in  saying  that  corruption,  somewhere,  by  ido- 
latry, is  a  charge  from  which  there  will  be  no  dissent. 

To  all  true-hearted  Protestants,  however,  the  appeal 
is  most  direct  and  forcible.  A  system  of  enormous 
superstition  has  been  feeding  for  ages  upon  the  strength 
of  the  church.  Before  our  very  eyes  we  see  it ;  her 
decay  and  death  in  that  member  of  her  body  where  the 
poison  has  been  longest  working  ;  her  ordinances  quite 
forgetting  their  old  design,  and  turned  to  that  of  seducing 


22  INTRODUCTION. 

men  away  from  what,  is  pure  and  spiritual  in  worship ; 
her  officers  betraying  the  worst  folly  of  man,  in  the 
very  act  of  claiming  the  high  honours  of  God ;  and  her 
v/hole  system  squared  as  with  studied  art  to  cherish  the 
evil  to  which  the  soul  has  so  amply  proved  its  tendency. 

Here,  therefore,  in  the  deep  and  long  apostacy  of  this, 
the  largest  society  of  men  that  ever  bore  the  name  of 
Christ,  we,  who  by  sovereign  grace  have  come  out 
from  her  communion  may  find  our  strongest  reason  for 
a  wise  jealousy  over  each  other.  How  does  it  stand 
with  us?  Is  that  current  of  corruption  that  carries 
every  thing  before  it  in  the  Roman  church,  unfelt  by 
Protestants?  If  it  is,  few  problems  in  the  spiritual 
w^orld  would  be  harder  to  explain  than  the  cause  of  this 
exemption.  Does  superstition  break  off  at  the  door  of 
the  Papacy ;  and  are  all  without  untainted  by  it  ?  Is 
there  a  chasm  fixing  a  clear  boundary  between  pure 
worship  and  false?  or,  as  in  other  cases,  do  truth  and 
error  but  half  renounce  their  fellowship,  and  throwing 
out  their  arms  towards  each  other,  depart  from  either 
territory  only  in  lingering  degrees,  leaving  at  each 
grade  of  separation  some  portion  of  their  strength  to 
parley  for  new  alliances  ?  Is  it  a  common  thing  at  all 
for  that  clear  bright  line  marking  between  wrong  and 
right,  whether  in  faith  or  worship,  so  totally  to  divorce 
their  respective  adherents  as  to  deny  all  mutual  ap- 
proaches ?  If  it  be  not,  then  in  the  case  before  us,  it  is 
plain  where  our  suspicions  must  rest. 

If  Rome  be  false,  against  whose  influence  can  we  be 
more  wisely  guarded  than  theirs  who  are  looking  to- 
wards Rome?  Above  all,  that  damning  sin  of  the 
Papacy,  —  man  arrogating  the  claims  of  God, — the 
water  and  the  bread  and  the  wine  in  his  hands  hiding 


INTRODUCTION.  23 

Christ  and  the  atonement, — things  visible  in  his  wor- 
ship, vanities  that  perish  in  the  using,  overshadowing 
and  causing  him  to  forget  the  claims  of  a  true  devotion, 
— this  sin,  so  far  as  the  reader  will  confess  it  one,  may- 
be his  index  in  judging,  if  at  all,  and  where,  the  church 
is  losing  her  integrity.  If  in  any  one  of  her  branches 
the  simple  rites  or  offices  of  our  religion  are  gathering 
again  about  them  those  meretricious  honours  of  which 
it  was  the  chief  labour  of  the  Reformation  that  they 
might  be  shorn,  let  here  be  our  mark  against  that 
branch ;  and  let  our  pity  be  turned  upon  it,  and  our 
watch  be  set  against  it,  not  only  for  the  measure  of  its 
likeness  to  its  apostate  mother  now,  but  for  the  peril  in 
which  it  stands  of  returning  fully  to  her  embraces. 

IV.  It  is  time  for  the  Reformed  church  to  grow  cor- 
rupt. Happy  will  it  be  for  her  if  one  branch  will  draw 
off  upon  itself  all  she  has  to  fear — one  loathsome  issue 
satisfying  the  disease,  and  leaving  a  measure  of  health 
in  the  other  members  of  her  body. 

Three  centuries  from  the  death  of  Christ,  evidence 
in  every  shape  warrants  the  belief  that  the  primitive 
church  had  strayed  far  from  the  truth.  We  are  now 
three  centuries  from  the  dawn  of  the  Reformation.  If 
there  be  any  sign  in  this,  the  time  has  come  for  our 
corruption,  and  if  the  path  downward  be  as  steep  as  in 
the  patriarchal,  the  Jewish,  or  the  early  Christian  age, 
God  only  knows  with  what  rapid  strides  our  corruption 
may  advance. 

What  were  the  circumstances  of  the  last  apostacy  ? 
Was  the  Man  of  Sin  the  creature  of  rising  ambition  in 
the  clergy,  and  of  waning  self-respect  and  Christian 
liberty  among  the  people  ?  Look  well  if  like  influences 
are  begetting  no  such  results   among   ourselves.     Did 


24  INTRODUCTION. 

the  church  most  rapidly  decline,  wherever  it  was  ear- 
liest and  best  supported  by  the  secular  power  ?  Where, 
next  to  Rome,  does  the  modern  church  receive  its 
richest  governmental  endowments  t  Were  the  seeds  of 
corruption  thus  matured,  transplanted  from  under  the 
smile  of  kings  to  take  root  in  other  lands  ?  then  so  it 
may  be  now.  We  may  have  planted  among  us  a  court 
religion,  bringing  with  it  all  its  corruptions,  without  the 
patronage  for  which  it  sold  itself.  Once  more  :  did  the 
ancient  church  court  the  favour  of  the  Pagans  by  a  base 
adultery  with  their  superstitions  1  Did  mere  externals 
and  new  externals  become  prominent  in  her  preaching 
that  the  heathen  mind  might  find  something  congenial 
in  what  she  offered  ?  then  the  same  policy  may  rise 
again  ;  let  us  watch  the  first  signs  of  sympathy  with 
Rome,  meeting  as  it  may  the  prurient  appetite  of  the 
people  by  yielding  to  her  blandishments,  and  taking  at 
her  hand,  without  the  stint  of  fresh  invention,  or  the  toil 
with  which  she  toiled  through  the  seed-time  and  harvest 
of  error,  the  fruits  of  her  ripe  degeneracy. 

On  all  these  grounds  of  strong  suspicion  let  us  build, 
not  prejudice,  but  caution.  No  partiality  is  asked,  but 
simply  that  direction,  which  admitted  truths  like  these 
must  give  to  candid  study.  Certainly  the  least  amends 
that  can  be  won  back  from  superstition  for  all  her  mis- 
chiefs in  the  heathen  world  and  in  one  scarcely  less 
heathen  church,  is,  that  they  give  warning  against  them- 
selves, so  that  we  may  have  forecast  enough  to  set  a 
double  guard  upon  them.  For  "  these  things  were  our 
examples,  to  the  intent  we  should  not  lust  after  evil 
things,  as  they  also  lusted ;  neither  be  idolaters,  as  were 
some  of  them."* 

»  1  Cor.  X.  6,  7. 


INTRODUCTION. 


25 


The  object  of  the  chapters  that  follow  is,  by  going 
down  to  the  lowest  principles  on  which  the  institution  of 
the  church  is  founded,  not  only  to  show  how  thoroughly 
the  foregoing  suspicions  are  realized  by  existing  viola- 
tions of  those  principles,  but  also  to  erect  a  lest,  by 
which  the  plausible  beginnings  of  idolatry,  which  have 
periodically  and  so  easily  deceived  the  church,  and  are 
beginning,  for  the  fourth  time,  again  to  deceive  her  now, 
may  be  detected  and  shunned. 

It  is  useless  to  attempt  this,  however,  till  the  hollow- 
ness  of  a  certain  popular  and  ready  argument,  wielded 
in  behalf  of  more  than  one  sect  of  modern  Protestants, 
be  shown  in  the  light  of  what  has  been  already  said. 
In  whatever  language  it  is  given,  it  will  be  recognised 
as  familiar.  "  You  admit  the  validity  of  our  ordi- 
nances ;  we  deny  the  validity  of  yours.  Is  it  not  better 
at  once  to  take  that  ground  as  to  whose  safety  we  are 
both  agreed?" 

As  illustration,  take  the  mode  of  baptism.  A  branch 
of  the  church  believe  that  the  command  in  Christ's  com- 
mission to  the  apostles,  "Go  teach  all  nations ;  baptizing 
them,"  &c.,  is  obeyed  by  no  other  mode  of  the  rite  than 
immersion,  i.  e.,  the  dipping  of  the  whole  person  under 
water  ;  and  that  one  undergoing  any  other  ceremony  is 
not  initiated  into  the  visible  church.  The  rest  adopt 
sprinkling  as  the  valid  rite,  but  with  widely  different 
views  of  the  importance  of  the  mode,  without  making  it 
a  test  of  membership,  or  valid  to  the  exclusion  of  the 
other.  The  first,  then,  we  are  told  have  plainly  the  ad- 
vantage as  to  popular  choice.  If,  so  far  as  concerns 
validity,  all  agree  in  immersion,  and  but  a  part  in  sprink- 
ling, respect  for  the  giver  of  the  rite  should  determine 

3 


26  INTRODUCTION. 

US  to  that  in  which  we  can  have  the  testimony  of  both 
parties,  that  we  are  obeying  Him. 

This  logical  formula  becomes  still  more  potent  where 
men's  fears  can  be  assailed.  The  advocates  of  that  error, 
in  any  of  its  phases,  which  makes  valid  church  orders  or 
ordinances  the  only  channel  of  God's  covenanted  mercy, 
easily  construct  upon  it  an  argument  that  tells  directly 
upon  a  certain  class  of  minds.  "  You  acknowledge  us 
to  be  a  true  church  of  Jesus  Christ;  we  are  constrained 
to  withhold  any  such  acknowledgment  from  you.  To 
the  validity  of  our  communion,  therefore,  witness  is 
borne  by  both  ;  therefore,  care  for  your  own  salvation 
demands  that  you  should  make  sure  of  being  within  the 
true  pale  by  this  twofold  testimony.  Come  to  our 
ground,  and  you  risk  nothing  on  your  own,  while  you 
gain  all  on  ours." 

Certainly,  if  this  has  weight,  it  is  quite  unnecessary 
work  to  discuss  the  intrinsic  claims  of  either  system. 
The  least  shade  of  doubt  that  might  be  left,  must  deter- 
mine to  the  safe  side.  Let  opinion  ever  so  much  forbid, 
still  the  doctrine  of  probabilities  must  constrain  compli- 
ance ;  for  if  the  exclusive  claim  have  any,  the  remotest 
chance  at  all,  of  being  right,  since  we  venture  nothing 
by  abandoning  the  other,  better  yield  at  once,  that  the 
benefit  of  that  chance  may  be  gained. 

Against  such  fearful  odds  the  truth  could  in  no  single 
instance  be  maintained.  The  least  vestige  of  doubt  on 
one  side,  would  be  the  utmost  triumph  on  the  other. 
Those  minds — -and  where  in  our  dark  world  could  they 
be  found — only  those  that  could  banish  all  misgiving, 
and  clothe  their  creed  in  perfect  light,  would  dare  prac- 
tically to  acknowledge  the  weight  of  any  evidence  that 


INTRODUCTION.  27 

the  less  pretending  party  could  accumulate.  Indeed, 
carry  out  the  principle,  and  a  moderate  party  must 
always  practically  be  wrong.  Exclusive  claims  would 
be  by  set  rule  a  passport  to  success.  No  church  need 
do  more  than  rise  above  her  sisters  in  any  form  of  ar- 
rogant assumption — retaining  ev^ery  thing  they  have  and 
adding  some  one  thing  more — to  challenge  by  this  very 
act  the  adherence  of  all  the  rest.  The  papacy  is  the 
only  body  worth  communing  with.  Especially  for  any 
sect  who  thinks  well  of  her  essential  soundness  as  a 
church  of  Christ,  it  is  the  utmost  rashness  to  be  one  mo- 
ment out  of  her  pale.  How  can  we  but  yield  to  her  sole 
catholicity  1  for  that  common  possibility  of  salvation, 
which  few  question  in  her,  she  denies  to  all. 

As  the  first  fallacy  of  this  whole  argument,  and  a 
good  evidence  besides  of  the  mischief  of  that  trust  to 
externals  which  it  contributes  to  uphold,  look  at  this  one 
result.  Here  are  God's  holy  ordinances  offered  to  meet 
an  intention  in  which  the  recipient  has  by  his  ow^n  con- 
fession no  faith.  Remember  he  is  invited  to  them  as 
a  matter  of  safety,  aside  from  his  predominant  opinion. 
The  very  call  by  which  he  has  been  won  over,  w^as  to 
make  provision  for  a  chance,  not  to  bow  to  usual  reasons. 
How  clear,  then,  the  first  lesson  that  his  new  mother 
teaches,  that  the  sacraments  are  precious,  irrespective  of 
his  belief  Bad  as  it  is  to  make  their  necessity  absolute 
luith  faith,  here  that  worse  deformity  of  the  error  is  un- 
veiled— a  necessity  apart  from  faith — nay,  against  it. 
This  lesson  is  inwrought  into  the  very  texture  of  the  ar- 
gument ;  for  as  the  office  of  the  argument  is  to  set  con- 
siderations of  safety  against  predominant  belief,  disen- 
gaging men  from  their  proper  communion  at  a  presup- 
posed sacrifice  of  opinion  and  feeling,  it  is  clear  that  the 


28  INTRODUCTION. 

chance  for  which  they  have  left  all,  is  nothing,  if  the  out- 
ward sacrament  will  not  do  its  work  or  be  pleasing  to 
God  in  the  face  of  what  they  beheve. 

So  that  the  advocate  of  immersion,  deeply  as  he  may 
abhor  such  teaching,  does  in  fact  endorse  it,  whenever 
that  most  unhappy  argument  is  on  his  lips.  He  offers 
baptism,  whose  preciousness  he,  beyond  others,  insists  is 
in  the  faith  of  the  baptized,  to  one  the  whole  tenor  of 
whose  mind  forbids  that  mode  and  sense,  without  which 
he  counts  it  no  ordinance.  It  is  true  that  all  parties  be- 
lieve in  much  that  is  essential  to  the  rite ;  but  that  is 
nothing,  so  long  as  those  very  points  on  the  ground  of 
which  a  change  of  church  relation  is  invited,  are  not 
believed,  but  must  be  yielded  to  mechanically,  and  not 
from  the  heart. 

Let  us  keep  this  plea  in  sight  hereafter,  as  a  good  ex- 
ponent of  the  system  whose  corruption  it  so  effectively 
upholds,  a  clear  recommended  example  of  form  divorced 
from  faith,  or  of  grace  promised  if  the  body  will  meet  a 
condition  for  which  the  mind  is  known  to  be  unprepared. 

But  to  hasten  on  to  the  grand  fallacy  of  the  argument, 
it  urges  sin  as  a  step  to  safety. 

When  it  is  assumed  that  we  admit  the  validity  of  in- 
stitutions for  which  these  exclusive  claims  are  indulged, 
let  that  word  be  kept  to  its  true  limits.  It  is  wide  enough 
from  the  sense  of  the  admission,  that  the  use  of  our  own 
or  those  is  a  matter  of  indifference.  A  church  may  be 
far  gone  in  corruption,  and  yet  hold  fast  to  so  much  es- 
sential truth  as  will  warrant  us  to  invite  its  members  to 
our  communion,  and  to  acknowledge  its  ecclesiastical 
acts.  But  there  is  a  vast  diflerence  between  a  true 
church,  and  a  sound  one,  and  between  a  valid  and  a  pure 
ordinance,  and  you  might  see  abundant  reason  to  give 


INTRODUCTION.  29 

the  right  hand  of  fellowship  to  a  body  of  Christians,  un- 
der the  influence  of  whose  creed  you  would  not  for  a 
moment  live.  So  a  baptism  may  have  been  so  loaded 
with  superstition  that  nothing  could  have  tempted  you  to 
countenance  it,  and  yet,  should  the  exigency  occur,  you 
may  be  quite  right  in  refusing  to  ask  its  repetition. 

In  judging  of  private  Christians,  it  would  never  do  to 
make  supposed  piety  a  sanction  for  all  the  opinions  and 
practices  with  w^hich  it  is  seen  associated. 

Then  our  judgment  of  churches  must  bear  with  it  the 
same  reserve.  Usages  that  we  think  corrupt,  though 
they  do  not  destroy  validity,  must  forbid  conformity  ; 
for  it  seems  to  be  forgotten,  that  such  a  thing  as  false 
worship  is  possible,  and  is  a  grievous  wickedness.  If  I 
consent  to  sacraments  administered  in  a  sense  in  which 
I  believe  from  my  heart  God  never  gave  them,  can  I 
be  innocent  in  his  eyes  ?  and  have  I  any  right  to  com- 
promise my  duty  to  guard  against  a  distant  chance  ? 
If,  when  rightly  explained  ordinances  are  within  my 
reach,  I,  of  set  purpose,  choose  those  that  I  believe  cor- 
rupt, and  choose  them,  too,  on  the  very  ground  of  the 
superstitious  claim  that  makes  them  corrupt; — or,  to 
descend  to  the  lower  ground,  if  I  submit  to  a  7node  of 
administration  repulsive  to  my  faith,  and  a  snare  to  my 
mind  in  discerning  the  meaning  of  the  rite,  who  will 
dare  to  say  I  can  be  approved  of  God ;  when  always, 
but  especially  in  a  case  like  this,  "  whatsoever  is  not  of 
faith  is  sin  ?"' 

Look  at  the  effects  of  such  a  step.  He  who  thus 
resorts  to  foreign  ordinances  both  gives  and  takes — 
gives  countenance  and  the  influence  of  his  name  to  that 

»  Rom.  xiv.  23. 
3* 


30  INTRODUCTION. 

which  he  prevalently  believes  is  error ;  and  takes  a 
moulding  impression  from  the  new  alliance.  Beyond 
the  sin  of  tempting  others,  he  has  brought  temptation 
upon  himself,  and  grace  only  can  secure  his  creed  from 
sinking  to  the  level  of  the  one  to  which  it  already 
ostensibly  belongs. 

Then,  no  matter  though  superstitious  fear  may  say 
that  a  system,  though  it  looks  towards  idoktry,  may  yet 
be  right,  and  thence,  of  course,  be  vital,  if  you  do 
violence  to  better  faith  and  yield,  the  act  is  much  more 
a  sign  of  peril  than  a  step  toward  safety.  Few  as 
plausible  Christian  acts  could  so  call  in  question  Christian 
character ;  or  leave  more  room  to  fear  that,  like  him 
who,  in  the  apostles'  day,  sought  with  sinister  views  the 
benefits  of  the  church,  you  have  "  neither  part  nor  lot 
in  the  matter,"  your  heart  being  "  not  right  in  the  sight 
of  God."^ 

The  Hindoos,  at  least  so  far  as  numbers  give  weight, 
deserve  to  have  their  views  of  truth  somewhat  con- 
sidered. There  is  shut  up  under  their  peculiar  creed  a 
good  proportion  of  the  living  mind  of  our  race,  and  that, 
too,  in  their  better  castes  by  no  means  uncultivated 
mind.  Shall  it  have  no  voice  in  our  spiritual  councils? 
The  word  of  their  proverbially  acute  and  subtle  Brah- 
mins might  surely  go  for  something  in  balancing  our 
chances ;  why  not  listen,  and  satisfy  its  claims  ?  If  ever 
afterward  we  could  stand  aloof,  and  devote  ourselves 
to  our  own  religion,  could  it  be  wrong  to  give  one  day, 
for  example,  to  such  devotions  as  might  make  us  safe 
by  theirs  ?  Would  not  security  in  both  be  better  than 
in  one  ?  and  if  a  bath  in  the  Holy  River  would  so  meet 

*  Acts,  viii.  21. 


INTRODUCTION.  31 

their  faith  that  should  it  prove  the  true  one,  our  souls 
would  be  found  cleansed  by  that  single  washing,  could 
it  be  amiss  to  leave  our  proper  worship  for  a  day  to  get 
the  whole  benefit  of  the  chances  of  the  truth  of  the 
testimony  of  this  respectable  part  of  men  1 

The  analogy  is  no  distorted  one.  It  is  a  strange 
policy  in  religion.  While  it  betrays  the  creed  that 
invites  it,  it  can  be  resolved  into  nothing  else  than  the 
principle : — Let  us  do  evil  and  good  may  come. 

The  reader,  therefore,  whatever  sympathy  he  may 
have,  whether  much  or  little,  with  the  conclusions  to 
which  we  may  hereafter  come,  cannot  refuse  us  the 
open  field  and  equal  footing,  which  the  following  maxim 
will  secure : — 

All  church  claims  must  appeal  to  their  own  intrinsic 
merits.  The  question  of  safety  coincides  with  the  ques- 
tion of  truth. 


RtCWH 


DESIGN  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  PRINCIPLE  OF  DESIGN. 


Thouuh  God  is  not  the  father  of  truth,  it  being  as 
eternal  and  necessary  as  Himself,  still  His  mouth  is  its 
only  oracle,  and  His  mind  is  its  perfect  gauge.  Pretended 
truth,  not  gotten  in  some  way  from  Him,  is  no  truth ; 
but  gotten  in  any  way  from  Him,  it  stands  good,  past 
all  possibility  of  mistake  or  wrong,  and  is  imperative 
at  once  upon  his  creatures.  The  opinions,  therefore, 
that  divide  mankind,  all  defer  to  the  question,  what 
would  God  have  us  believe'?  and  conflict  between  them, 
however  wide  the  interest  it  involves,  and  however  keen 
the  interest  it  excites,  has  no  colour  of  excuse  for  lasting 
beyond  the  time  when  it  shall  have  been  shown,  either 
that  no  truth  has  come  from  God  on  the  subject  in  dis- 
pute, or  precisely  what  truth  has  come  from  Him.  So 
that  the  grand  end  in  studying  any  question  is  to  bring 
the  mind  of  God,  whether  by  reason,  which  is  His  voice, 


34  PRINCIPLE  OF  DESIGN. 

or  by  nature,  which  is  His  work,  or  by  the  Bible,  which 
is  His  word,  in  contact  with  our  own  minds. 

By  whichever  of  the  three,  however,  this  contact  may 
be  formed,  it  is  of  yjrime  importance  to  settle  the  office 
of  reason,  for  it  has  work  to  do,  no  matter  how  God 
may  open  Himself  to  man. 

This  work  has  been  obscured  and  thrown  into  doubt 
by  a  favourite  mutiny  of  reason — a  desertion  of  its  pro- 
per office  and  a  usurpation  of  another.  Its  proper  office 
is  to  stand  and  weigh  evidence  for  the  truth,  and  to 
give  sanction  to  faith  as  soon  as  that  evidence  reaches 
a  sufficient  height.  Its  mutiny  has  been  in  insisting  that 
it  shall  see  through  a  truth  as  well  as  see  its  evidence, 
in  intruding  its  own  power  to  understand  into  the  list  of 
necessary  proofs,  and  so  in  refusing  to  believe  what  it 
cannot  comprehend.  Or,  a  little  differently,  for  error 
has  never  only  a  single  phase,  it  is  a  withholding  of  be- 
lief from  every  thing  that  reason  cannot  argue  out  from 
common  principles.  How  grossly  it  is  bred  of  preju- 
dice may  be  seen  in  the  fact  that  it  is  not  for  a  moment 
tolerated  any  where  else  than  in  religion.  Natural 
science  does  not  wait  to  record  her  acquisitions  till  she 
has  robbed  them  of  all  mystery.  Reason  does  not  com- 
prehend the  union  of  soul  and  body;  yet  believes  it. 
Reason  cannot  argue  out  the  attraction  of  the  earth  and 
sun  from  any  principle  not  gathered  from  the  fact  itself. 
Indeed  the  only  principle  that  seems  to  touch  the  case, 
•*  nothing  can  act  where  it  is  not,"  seems  all  against  it ; 
yet  reason  submissively  believes.  Let  it  get  within  the 
circle  of  religious  truth,  however,  and  its  tone  changes. 
Men's  feelings,  then,  are  with  it  in  its  errors.  We  like 
it  to  doubt  and  cavil.  The  trinity  we  do  not  believe, 
and  the  incarnation  we  do  not  believe,  and  miracles  we 


PRINCirLE  OF  DESIGN.  35 

do  not  believe,  because  reason,  not  acting  as  she  always 
does,  but  instructed  by  our  prejudices,  revolts  at  the 
method  by  which  they  are  reached  and  at  the  mystery 
in  v^hich  they  are  wrapped.  This  error  of  the  mind 
has  gotten  the  name  of  Rationalism. 

Winning  a  pretext  from  it,  but  still  for  an  interested 
end,  i.  e.,  to  shield  false  doctrine  from  the  scrutiny  of 
reason,  another  school  of  religionists  have  passed  over  to 
the  opposite  extreme,  and  held,  that  in  all  questions  of 
faith,  reason  must  be  silent,  for  that  "  where  faith  begins 
reason  ends." 

This  is  no  escape  from  Rationalism,  except  as  from 
one  folly  into  a  worse.  The  curse  of  Rationalism  lies 
not  in  the  use  of  reason  in  religion,  nor  even  in  the  too 
great  use  of  reason,  a  thing  impossible,  as  much  so  as 
for  an  eye  to  gaze  at  a  distant  object  too  keenly  to  see 
it,  or  for  a  judge  to  look  into  a  cause  too  closely  to  de- 
cide it.  It  lies  in  a  total  misdirection  of  reason.  The 
man  who  denies  the  force  of  gravity,  because  he  cannot 
understand  it,  is  not  bowing  to  reason,  but  making  reason 
bow  to  prejudice.  Let  him  reason  farther,  and  his  faith 
will  return  to  him.  So  of  the  Rationalist.  He  does  not 
reason  enough,  or  else  not  well  enough  ;  for  in  admitting 
evidence  for  mysteries  he  would  stand  on  a  far  higher 
level  even  of  intellect,  than  in  suffering  his  faith  to  go  no 
farther  than  his  sight.  Indeed  his  principle  carried  out 
would  strip  us  of  all  knowledge ;  for  where  is  the  truth 
that  does  not  trace  its  root  deeper  than  our  eye  can  fol- 
low it?  Simply  then  because  what  is  rationalistic  is  not 
rational,  does  it  brand  itself  as  error. 

Let  it  be  remembered  that  reason  in  common  and 
popular  discourse  denotes  that  power  by  which  we  dis- 


36  PRINCIPLE  OF  DESIGN. 

tinguish  truth  from  falsehood  and  right  from  wrong,*  or 
striking  out  the  last  words,  inasmuch  as  wrong  and  right 
are  but  different  modes  of  truth,  that  power  by  which 
we  distinguish  truth  from  falsehood.  Now,  who  dare 
say  that  contact  may  be  formed  between  the  divine 
mind  and  ours,  and  truth  pass  from  one  into  the  other, 
without  the  use  of  this  power  ?  Must  we  not  "  know  of 
the  doctrine  whether  it  be  of  God  V-^  God's  being  the 
oracle  cannot  discharge  reason  from  being  the  judge; 
for  let  any  one  attempt  to  conceive,  how  thought  of  any 
kind  could  get  into  his  soul  without  passing  the  tribunal 
of  reason.  It  may  be  received  superstitiously  on  the  sole 
authority  of  the  church,  or  reverently  on  the  sole  au- 
thority of  God,  but  authority  itself  in  either  case  offers 
itself  as  a  reason.  So  that,  to  say  nothing  of  our  duty 
to  "prove  all  things  and  hold  fast  that  which  is  good," 
there  is  a  mental  necessity  upon  us.  Faith  cannot  be  so 
implicit,  or  authority  so  supreme,  as  neither  to  give,  or 
be,  or  seem  a  reason  for  itself.  The  fact  is,  credulity  is 
never  so  servile  as  to  cast  from  it  all  private  judgment. 
It  may  degrade  the  judgment  of  reason,  but  cannot  re- 
sign it ;  for  dismiss  reason  from  its  office,  and  man  has 
nothing  more  to  do  with  truth,  nor,  actively,  with  God. 
Under  no  circumstances  of  divine  communication 
does  reason  seem  to  have  less  to  do  than  where  truth  is 
imprinted  on  the  mind  by  direct  inspiration.  Then  there 
seems  to  be  nothing  needed,  but  to  listen, — "  I  will  hear 
what  God  the  Lord  will  speak."  Better  reflection,  how- 
ever, will  convince  us  that  reason  has  an  office  here, 
much  the  same  as  in  any  other  mode  of  learning.  First 
of  all  it  is  cast  upon  us  to  judge  whether  God  is  speak- 

*  Stewart's  Philosophy,  vol.  ii.  p.  10.  ^  John  vii.  17. 


PRINCIPLE  OF  DESIGN.  37 

ing.  All  truth  that  enters  the  mind  is  not  inspired  truth. 
We  must  "  try  the  spirits  whether  they  are  of  God."» 
Then  close  upon  this  follows  another  work,  of  telling  the 
meaning  of  what  he  speaks.  If  the  inspiration  has  been 
one  of  words  alone,  as  was  probably  the  case  with 
Balaam,  then  the  prophet  has  the  same  labour  with  his 
hearers  to  decipher  and  explain.  If  it  has  been  an  im- 
printing of  the  thought  itself,  as  it  was  perhaps  with 
holier  men  than  Balaam,  still  a  sanctified  reason  must 
again  come  in  to  unfold  and  connect  and  apply  the 
thought. 

Inspiration,  however,  is  rare.  Only  one  mortal  among 
millions  has  enjoyed  it,  and  he  for  the  benefit  of  the 
rest.  To  us  truth  out  of  the  mind  of  God  must  come  at 
second  hand,  through  those  few  favoured  men,  and  though 
God  guides  them  in  receiving  it,  and  makes  them  in- 
fallible in  deHvering  it  to  us,  still  w^e  get  it  not  in  the 
shape  it  came  to  them.  Poor  forms  of  matter,  when 
most  refined,  but  a  rough  way  of  conveying  thought,  are 
the  only  media  of  communion  between  man  and  man, 
and  therefore  the  only  way  w^hich  inspired  men  have 
had  to  hand  down  their  oracles  to  us. 

Obscured,  divided,  and  broken  up  as  truth  necessarily 
must  be  in  descending  from  God's  mind  into  no  better 
vehicle  than  dull  material  signs,  language  as  we  call 
them,  it  may  readily  be  imagined  how  greatly  the  labour 
of  reason  must  be  enhanced  when  it  descends  from  the 
simple  work  of  receiving  an  inspiration  from  the  mind 
of  God,  to  the  less  honourable  but  more  complex  work 
of  interpreting  it  from  out  of  the  lips,  or  from  under  the 
pen  of  man.     This  last  is  our  work.     Thought,  which 

*  John  iv.  1. 

4 


38  PRINCIPLE  OF  DESIGN. 

going  forth  from  its  infinite  source,  has  poured  itself  into 
rude  signs,  we  must  gather  back  and  identify  and  store 
away  for  our  spiritual  uses.  Our  creed,  in  this  age  of 
the  world,  must  be  got  by  reading ;  and  reading  must 
necessarily  task  all  the  faculties  of  the  mind.  It  implies 
at  each  step  a  judgment  of  evidence  and  of  meaning ; 
and  what  other  power  have  we  for  this  than  the  sanc- 
tified power  of  reason? 

The  doctrine  that  sways  all  private  judgment  to  the 
authority  of  the  church,  and  that  would  withdraw  the 
written  word  from  the  people,  would  not,  should  we 
grant  it,  vitiate  our  conclusion.  Some  one  must  read. 
If  not  the  people  for  themselves,  then  the  Church  for 
the  people :  and  the  minds  that  make  up  "  the  Church," 
no  matter  who  they  are,  if  we  trust  them  to  get  for  us 
the  sense  of  Scripture,  must  get  it  by  interpretation,  and 
by  that  only  conceivable  mode  of  right  interpretation — 
the  exercise  of  an  enlightened  and  divinely -directed 
reason  in  the  work  of  judging. 

This  is  no  easy  work.  Preparation  for  it  came  by 
our  earliest  and  longest  studies  ;  and  though  the  Bible, 
now  that  education  has  furnished  us  with  a  knowledge 
of  its  grammatical  signs,  seems  to  give  up  its  meaning 
to  us  with  little  trouble,  yet  how  much  it  still  withholds  ! 
The  Bible  still  grows  with  all  of  us  in  size  and  riches 
by  the  careful  sifting  of  its  language.  It  admits  and 
rewards  all  degrees  of  toil  and  exactness  ;  and  he  must 
rest  content  to  starve  his  faith  with  but  half  a  revelation, 
who  does  not  put  all  his  powers  under  task  for  inter- 
pretation. Those  translations  of  the  sacred  text  in 
which  so  many  make  it  an  act  of  piety  to  confide,  at  the 
very  time  when  they  would  depose  reason  from  any 
office  in  religion  and  even  ridicule  its  claims,  are  the 


PRINCIPLE  OF  DESIGN.  39 


fruits  of  long  years  of  closest  and  most  various  exercise 
of  reason.  The  fact  is,  call  reasoning  Rationalism,  and 
brand  it  as  an  evil,  and  the  Bible  is  at  once  shut  up  and 
sealed.  Make  trust  in  the  mind's  decision  heresy,  and 
you  shut  up  the  only  path  to  trust  in  God ;  you  have  set 
your  name  to  the  most  thorough  scepticism.  That  cor- 
rupt reason  breeds  error  infallibly,  calls  not  that  it  be 
renounced,  but  that  it  be  renewed  ;  not  at  all  that  we 
seek  some  other  avenue  to  truth  ;  there  is  no  other  ;  but 
that  we  call  down  the  Spirit  to  open  and  widen  and 
straighten  that  which  God  himself  has  appointed. 

These  remarks  will  bring  the  mind  of  the  reader  to 
the  right  point  for  introducing  a  principle  which  is  to 
be  the  radical  one  in  all  that  follows. 

The  mere  recognition  of  grammatical  signs,  is  not 
the  whole  of  reading.  Were  language  an  exact  picture 
of  thought,  then  the  will  of  God  would  sufler  nothing  in 
clearness  and  fulness  from  being  committed  to  such  a 
medium,  but  could  be  gathered  by  an  act  of  mind  as 
near  to  simple  apprehension  as  the  act  by  which  ancient 
prophets  saw  what  "  the  spirit  within  them  did  signify." 
Absolute  precision,  however,  is  no  attribute  of  language. 
Signs,  whatever  their  mode,  are  essentially  ambiguous. 
The  shades  of  thought  are  so  much  finer  and  more 
endlessly  varied  than  the  modes  of  matter,  that  one  can 
never  find  a  true  expression  in  the  other. 

This  is  most  true,  of  course,  of  the  ruder  signs— forms 
of  motion,  or,  as  we  call  them,  gestures ;  a  method  of 
making  matter  the  utterer  of  mind,  the  vagueness  of 
which^is  extreme.  If  the  principle  we  are  about  to 
notice,  did  not  furnish  us  a  key,  it  would  be  a  mys- 
tery how  men  impart  to  them,  or  see  in  them,  so 
much  significancy.     Still,  though  in  these  lower  modes 


40  PRINCIPLE  or  DESIGN. 

the  obscurity  is  greatest,  we  do  not  wholly  get  out  of  it 
in  reaching  the  very  highest  level  of  artificial  refine- 
ment, and  in  adopting  signs  most  narrow  in  meaning 
and  best  defined.  Language,  though  by  far  the  most 
transparent  medium  of  thought  of  which  we  have  any 
conception,  is  thoroughly  ambiguous.  Not  only  so,  but 
in  a  thousand  cases,  read  as  it  stands,  each  word  in  its 
strictest  definition,  it  is  worse  than  ambiguous, — false.  It 
is  the  necessary  habit  of  writers,  trusting  to  a  principle, 
distinct  from  mere  grammar,  for  finding  the  sense,  to 
compose  sentences  whose  natural,  downright  meaning  is 
palpably  untrue.  The  Bible  is  full  of  such  sentences. 
Nay,  we  know  not  that  it  would  be  going  too  far  to 
say,  that  if  nothing  could  come  in,  as  a  basis  of  herme- 
neutics,  but  bald  definition,  scarcely  any  part  of  scripture 
but  would  be  so  far  ambiguous  as  to  teach  less  truth 
than  error. 

Let  some  remarkable  instances  illustrate  what  is 
meant.  The  tenth  commandment  is,  "  Thou  shalt  not 
covet."  Take  these  words  as  they  stand  in  their  simple 
sense,  and  they  bring  discord  into  the  whole  moral  law. 
The  mad  faith  of  the  Stoic  might  be  built  upon  them,  or 
any  system  absurd  enough  to  forbid  the  exercise  of 
one  of  man's  inborn  and  necessary  emotions ;  but  true 
religion  would  contradict  them  at  every  point.  Desire, 
(and  the  same  word  in  the  original  has  elsewhere  this 
translation)  the  strongest  desire  is  a  Christian  duty  and 
a  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  "  Covet  earnestly  the  best 
gifts."  There  can  be  no  love  of  God  without  it.  It  is 
plain  there  must  be  some  clue  in  the  mind  of  the  plain 
unlettered  reader  to  a  sense  much  narrower  than  the 
word,  self-interpreted,  would  justify. 

So  with  another  of  the  decalogue :  "  Thou  shalt  not 


PRINCIPLE  OF  DESIGN.  41 

kill."  Definition  alone  is  not  all  that  must  interpret  it. 
Appeal  to  nothing  else,  and  you  would  have  a  precept 
that  would  meet  well  enough  the  conscience  of  a  Brah- 
min, but  would  contradict  the  duty  no  less  than  the 
practice  of  every  Christian. 

"  It  repented  the  Lord  that  He  had  made  man  on  the 
earth,  and  it  grieved  Him  at  his  heart."*  Shall  we 
take  this  as  it  stands;  just  as  our  dictionaries  would 
define  it?  Could  there  be  better  evidence  that  in  read- 
ing, the  mind  is  called  to  an  office  beyond  mere  telling 
the  common  force  of  words,  and  the  current  use  of 
sentences  ;  and  must  be  furnished  beforehand  with  some 
governing  principle,  on  the  strength  of  which,  it  may  feel 
authorized  to  depart  from  that  force  and  use  1  We 
have  quoted  marked  instances  to  make  the  truth  more 
prominent,  but  deeper  examination  of  any  written  book 
would  show  it  to  be  general ;  inasmuch  as  all  language, 
in  its  strictness,  either  falls  short  of  the  shade  of  thought 
committed  to  it,  or  else  wanders  from  it. 

Revelation,  then,  is  worth  nothing  to  us  without  the 
aid  of  what  we  shall  call  the  principle  of  design.  The 
humblest  reader  of  the  Bible  uses  it ;  if  unwittingly, 
still,  of  course,  and  constantly. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  only  end  of  the  reader  is  to 
bring  himself  in  contact  with  the  mind  of  the  writer — 
to  discover  his  will,  or  his  intention  in  the  language  he 
has  chosen.  We  assume  the  hypothesis,  that  that  inten- 
tion harmonizes  in  all  its  parts.  Especially  in  reading 
the  Bible,  each  leaf  is  turned  with  faith  in  the  oneness 
of  its  Author's  will.    This  harmonized  will  is  his  design. 

Now  what  was  it  in  respect  to  the   passages  just 

*  Gen.  vi,  6. 

4* 


42  PRINCIPLE  OF  DESIGN. 

quoted,  that  convinced  us  they  would  not  bear  the  strict 
meaning  of  their  own  words  1  Plainly,  previous  know- 
ledge, on  our  part,  of  what  God  would  have  us  believe. 
The  sense  was  at  once  swayed  to  its  proper  bearing, 
by  the  discord  any  other  would  occasion  with  the  truth 
already  in  the  mind.  The  manifest  design  changed  and 
fixed  the  sense. 

So  it  must  in  each  step  of  interpretation.  The  words 
alone  do  not  give  the  meaning  to  us,  but  the  words  cor- 
rected and  modified  by  light  from  other  quarters.  Our 
former  knowledge  must  digest  our  new  acquisitions;  just 
as  the  food  of  the  body  can  be  assimilated  to  it  only  by 
the  warmth  and  strength  of  its  previous  nourishment. 

To  brand  this  as  "philosophy  and  vain  deceit,"  is 
idle.  There  is  a  deep  and  radical  necessity  in  such  a 
course.  It  is  not  a  license ;  it  is  not  a  privilege ;  it  is 
the  very  life  and  soul  of  reading,  in  its  simplest  forms — 
that  which  each  mind  adopts  at  once,  without  choice  or 
doubt.  The  Bible  was  never  meant  to  work  its  ends 
without  it.  It  would  have  been  no  more  impossible  for 
Galileo  to  read  the  sentence,  "  Sun,  stand  thou  still  upon 
Gibeon,"^  in  its  directed  sense,  or,  ex  animo,  to  recant 
before  it  on  the  charge  of  vain  philosophy,  than  for  the 
least  sophisticated  reader  to  go  counter  to  his  own 
sense  of  design  in  reading  the  plainest  scriptures. 

That  principle  is  much  the  same  to  which,  in  the  legal 
profession,  there  is  such  constant  appeal,  and  in  neglect 
of  which  such  endless  injustice  has  been  done :  we  mean 
intention,  a  principle  not  safely  or  even  sanely  lost  sight 
of  in  any  kind  of  writing;  for,  indeed,  insanity  could 
hardly  bring  together  such  strange  and  incoherent 
thoughts  as  any  book  would  present  without  it.  As 
a  Josh.  X.  12. 


PRINCIPLE  OF  DESIGN.    ^  43 

examples,  take  Matt.  iii.  10,  12;  v.  29,  30.  All  figura- 
tive passages  are  more  or  less  in  point. 

What  would  naked  grammatical  interpretation  do  for 
such  sentences  as  these  1  "  If  any  man  come  to  me  and 
hate  not  his  father  and  mother  and  wife  and  children 
and  brethren  and  sisters,  yea,  and  his  own  life  also,  he 
cannot  be  my  disciple."''  "  Whosoever  is  born  of  God 
doth  not  commit  sin;  for  his  seed  remaineth  in  him; 
and  he  cannot  sin,  because  he  is  born  of  God.'""  "  Pray 
without  ceasing."*^  "  It  pleased  God  by  the  foolishness 
of  preaching  to  save  them  that  believe."*^  Let  any 
reader  ask  himself  what  such  sentences  would  be  worth 
to  him  as  forms  of  truth,  if  he  were  forbidden  to  task 
his  already  acquired  store  of  kindred  truth  to  render 
them  intelligible.  Let  him  go  deeper,  and  by  watching 
his  own  mind  in  all  reading,  and  the  poverty  and  way- 
wardness of  language  in  all  writing,  see  if  he  can  read 
at  all,  without  shaping  and  limiting  and  enlarging  the 
ideas  that  words  offer  to  him.  The  line  of  the  intended 
thought,  and  the  line  of  simple  definition,  often  and 
widely  diverge,  but  seldom  strictly  coincide. 

The  fact  is,  we  have  spoken  of  natural  grammatical 
interpretation,  but  the  idea  is  a  mere  figment.  Language 
was  never  given  for  such  self-limitation.  The  principle 
of  design  is  essentially  a  part  of  grammar;  for  until  it 
can  be  shown  that  without  a  miracle  words  can  point 
with  perfect  singleness  of  indication  to  one  shade  of 
meaning,  this  principle  must  determine  our  choice  be- 
tween many  shades.  Call  grammar  that  which  gives 
the  intention  and  rules  of  language,  and  we  read  gram- 
matically only  when  we  feel  free  to  depart,  as  occasion 
asks  it,  from  the  common  sense  of  words. 

*  Luke  xiv.  14.    ^  1  John  iii.  9.    «  1  Thess.  v.  17.    ^  1  Cor.  i.  21. 


44  PRINCIPLE  OF  DESIGN. 

How,  on  any  other  principle,  are  we  to  give  faith  to 
the  exact  verbal  contradictions  of  the  Bible?  "Answer 
not  a  fool  according  to  his  folly,  lest  thou  also  be  like 
unto  him.  Answer  a  fool  according  to  his  folly,  lest  he 
be  wise  in  his  own  conceit."^  Compare  also  (Rom.  iii. 
28,  and  iv.  2),  "  A  man  is  justified  by  faith  without  the 
deeds  of  the  law."  "  If  Abraham  were  justified  by 
works,  he  hath  whereof  to  glory;"  with  (James  ii.  21, 
24),  "  Was  not  Abraham,  our  father  justified  by  works, 
when  he  had  oflfered  Isaac,"  &c.  "  Ye  see  then,  how 
that  by  works  a  man  is  justified,  and  not  by  faith  only." 
And  yet  these  passages,  in  strict  letter  so  opposite,  are, 
in  the  intention  of  their  writers,  simply  and  beautifully 
consistent,  a  little  previous  knowledge  brought  to  the 
reading  of  them  being  enough  to  bring  the  utmost  logical 
harmony  out  of  the  utmost  verbal  discord. 

Again,  what  clue  but  that  of  which  we  are  speaking, 
,  can  help  to  fix  in  their  proper  places  the  various  means 
by  which  men  are  said  to  be  saved,  so  as  not  to  contra- 
dict the  fact  of  one  salvation.  "  There  is  none  other 
name  under  heaven  given  among  men  w^hereby  we  can 
be  saved."''  "  If  by  any  means  I  (Paul)  might  save  some 
of  them."''  "  In  doing  this,  thou  shalt  save  thyself."^ 
"  Baptism  doth  now  save  us,"^  &c.  "  We  are  saved  by 
hope."^  "  Receive  the  engrafted  word  which  is  able  to 
save  your  souls."^  It  is  cast  upon  the  mind  in  each  case 
to  shape  the  meaning,  that  the  unity  of  God's  saving 
work  may  not  be  broken. 

Our  Lord's  discourses  are  somewhat  remarkable  for 
the  degree  in  which  he  takes  for  granted,  in  those  who 
listen  to  them,  this  prompt  perception  of  design.     "  Joy 

*  Prov.  xxvi.  45.       ^  Acts  iv.  12.       c  Romans  ii.  14.      ^  1  Tim.  iv.  16. 
e  1  Peter  iii.  21.       f  Rom.  viii.  24.    6  James  i.  21. 


PRINCIPLE  OF  DESIGN.     '  45 

shall  be  in  heaven  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth,  more 
than  over  ninety  and  nine  just  persons  which  need  no 
repentance."^  "  Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  send 
peace  on  earth;  I  came  not  to  send  peace  but  a  sword. 
For  I  am  come  to  set  a  man  at  variance  against  his 
father,'"'  &c.  "Take  no  thought  for  your  life,"*=  &c. 
"The  maid  is  not  dead,"*^  &c.  He  questions  the  people 
as  to  its  possession.  "What  think  ye  of  Christ  ?  How 
doth  David  in  spirit  call  Him  Lord  ?"  &c.  He  rebukes 
them  for  the  want  of  it.  "  O  ye  of  little  faith ;  why 
reason  ye  among  yourselves  because  ye  have  brought 
no  bread  ?'  "  How  is  it  that  ye  do  not  understand,  that  I 
spake  not  to  you  concerning  bread  ?'  &c. 

His  disciples,  too,  and  other  inspired  writers,  have  left 
on  record  hundreds  of  such  mistakes,  in  which  we  see  the 
mischief  of  losing  sight  of  the  principle  of  design,  and  by 
which,  therefore,  that  principle  is  set  in  the  clearest  and 
most  striking  light.  We  beg  the  reader  to  notice,  as  we 
mention  some  of  them,  how  uniformly  the  persons  who 
make  the  mistake,  fail  to  get  hold  of  the  design  by  car- 
nal, external  views  of  what  the  writer  or  speaker  means 
— in  one  word,  by  a  tendency  to  literalism — that  wide 
and  general  form  of  literalism,  which  is  the  offspring  of 
a  mind  devoted  to  externals. 

From  what  source  but  this,  came  that  interpretation 
of  the  scribes,  which  made  all  the  Old  Testament  pro- 
phecies of  the  Messiah,  point  to  an  earthly  king,  who,  in 
a  long  personal  reign  should  restore  the  kingdom  to  Je- 
rusalem 1  "  We  trusted  that  it  had  been  he,  which  should 
have  redeemed  Israel"^ 

By  taking  narrower  cases,  they  may  be  multiplied  to 

»  Luke  XV.  7.  ^  Matt.  x.  34.  ^  Matt.  vi.  25. 

d  Matt.  ix.  24.  •  Luke  xxiv.  21. 


46 


PRINCIPLE  OF  DESIGN. 


almost  any  extent.     "  If  thou  knewest  the  gift  of  God, 

thou  wouldst  have  asked  (of  me)  living  water.    Sir,  thou 

hast  notJiing  to  draw  with,  and  the  loell  is  deep;'""  &c. 

"I  have  meat  to  eat  that  ye  know  not  of.     Hath  any 

man  brought  him  aught  to  eat  V'^     It  is  vv^onderful  how 

these  mistakes,  in  every  way  so  unique,  cluster  together 

in  some  chapters.    "  Whither  I  go  ye  cannot  come.    Will 

he  kill  himself?    The  truth  shall  make  you  free.     We  be 

Abraham's  seed,  and  were  never  in  bondage  to  any  man  ; 

how  sayest  thou,   Ye  shall  be  made  free  1     Ye  do  that 

which  ye  have  seen  with  your  father.     Abraham  is  our 

father.     If  a  man  keep  my  saying,  he  shall  never  see 

death.     Now,  we  know  that  thou  hast  a  devil     Art  thou 

greater  than  our  father,  Abraham,  which  is  dead ;  and 

the  prophets  ?  &c.    Your  father  Abraham  rejoiced  to  see 

my  day,  and  he  saw  it  and  was  glad.     Thou  art  not  yet 

fifty  years  old,  and  hast  thou  seen  Abraham?     Before 

Abraham  was,  I  am.     Then  took  they  up  stones,'""  &c. 

Could  there  be   more  signal  proof  of  the  emptiness  of 

mere  words  to  minds  unfurnished  with  the  key  to  their 

design  ? 

A  similar  train  of  misconceptions  occurs  in  John  vi., 
in  many  points  more  interesting  to  us,  because,  notwith- 
standing Christ's  repeated  explanations,—"  It  is  the  spirit 
that  quickeneth,  the  flesh  profiteth  nothing,"— the  very 
same  misconceptions  are  persevered  in  till  the  present 
day.  The  reader  will  mark  that  the  error  is  still  literal- 
ism—a  refusal  to  see  a  figure,  where  the  speaker  meant 
one.  "The  bread  of  God  is  he  which  cometh  down 
from  heaven,  and  giveth  life  unto  the  world.  Lord, 
evermore  give  us  this  bread.  I  am  the  bread  of  life.   The 


"^  John  iv.  10,  11.  b  joiin  iy.  33^  33.  c  John 


viii. 


PRINCIPLE  OF  DESIGN.  47 

Jews  then  murmured  at  him,  because  he  said,  I  am  the 
bread  which  came  down  from  heaven.  Is  not  this  Jesus, 
the  son  of  Joseph  ?  &c.  He  that  believeth  on  me  hath 
everlasting  Hfe.  I  am  the  hving  bread  that  came  down 
from  heaven.  If  any  man  eat  of  this  bread,  he  shall  live 
for  ever ;  and  the  bread  that  I  will  give  is  my  flesh,  which 
I  will  give  for  the  life  of  the  world.  The  Jews,  there- 
fore, strove  among  themselves,  saying,  How  can  this  man 
give  us  his  flesh  to  eat  1  Except  ye  eat  the  flesh  of  the 
Son  of  man,  and  drink  his  blood,  ye  have  no  life  in  you. 
This  is  an  hard  saying,  who  can  hear  it  1  It  is  the  spirit 
that  quickeneth,  the  flesh  profiteth  nothing ;  the  words 
that  I  speak  unto  you,  they  are  spirit,  and^^they  are  life." 
The  whole  (and  it  should  be  read  together,  for  many  of 
the  tokens  of  a  spiritual  meaning  which  Christ  held  out 
to  render  the  mistake  of  his  hearers  inexcusable,  are  seen 
in  the  sentences  we  have  omitted)  may  stand  as  a  type 
of  the  many  superstitious  interpretations  to  which  the 
words  of  Christ  and  his  apostles  are  still  subjected,  help- 
ing carnal  men  to  exalt  the  externals  of  the  church  at  the 
expense  of  what  is  spiritual. 

Let  us  be  satisfied  now,  however,  with  this  inference 
from  our  quotations.  There  is  a  partial  knowledge  of 
design  which  is  an  essential  element  of  reading.  Each 
sentence,  as  it  stands  by  itself,  presupposes,  in  the  mind 
of  its  reader,  light  to  define  its  meaning,  which  the  bare 
language  does  not  in  all  cases  furnish. 

Strong  objection,  we  know,  will  at  once  array  itself. 
The  principle  in  question  is  open  to  the  most  dangerous 
abuse.  Give  up  reliance  on  the  self-defining  power  of 
language,  and  let  each  man's  reason  set  its  limit,  and 
what  unity  or  safety  will  be  left  in  revelation'?  Where 
is  the  ofi^ice  of  grammar,  what  is  the  end  of  words, 


48  PRINCIPLE  OF  DESIGN. 

where  is  the  good  of  Scripture,  if  nothing  precise  or  de- 
finite is  given  to  the  mind  1 

The  difficulty  might  be  met  by  casting  upon  those 
who  urge  it  the  responsibihty  of  its  solution.  Our 
argument  was  from  experience,  supporting  itself  at  each 
point  on  fact — the  fact  that  men  actually  do,  and  that 
involuntarily,  call  in  to  their  help  in  reading,  more  than 
mere  definition  of  words.  First  explain  away  the  fact, 
and  then  you  have  a  right  to  the  objection.  Look  into 
any  commentary,  or  hear  any  plain  Christian  expound 
the  Scripture,  and  tell  us  why  appeal  is  so  often  made  to 
"what  makes  good  sense,"  or  "what  would  be  consistent 
for  the  inspir^  man  to  say,"  or  "  what  would  meet  his 
purpose."  We  stand  on  the  safest  of  all  grounds,  fact 
and  necessity. 

Waiving  this  right,  however :  does  not  the  weight  of 
the  difficulty  bear  only  upon  the  extravagant  use  of  de- 
sign ?  While  the  argument  had  in  view  the  folly  of  trust- 
ing in  mere  grammar  to  the  neglect  of  design;  does  not 
the  objection  meet  only  the  opposite  extreme — trust  to  a 
knowledge  of  design  to  the  neglect  of  grammar?  The 
fact  is,  in  arguing  this  whole  question,  men  have  falsified 
both  sides  of  it,  by  choosing  either  of  two  equally  wrong 
positions.  The  so-called  philosophical  method  of  inter- 
pretation and  the  grammatical  method  have  been  held 
up  as  essentially  distinct,  and  as  able,  either,  as  chosen, 
to  stand  alone.  There  never  was  a  greater  misconcep- 
tion. There  never  was  a  more  sure  result  than  the 
fastening  of  error  on  both  antagonist  parties.  The  phi- 
losophical method  is  well  enough  as  the  name  of  the 
extreme  on  that  side,  and  the  grammatical  method  of 
the  extreme  there;  but  no  amount  of  practical  error  can 
divorce  them  wholly.     Each  must  include  the  elements 


PRINCIPLE  OF  DESIGN.  49 

of  either,  however  wrongfully  one  may  predominate. 
The  true  method,  moreov^er,  lies  between  them,  and  is 
true  only  in  proportion  as  it  blends  both  in  harmony. 

You  say,  this  license  as  to  design  will  destroy  all  cer- 
tainty of  language.  But  have  we  not  seen  (in  case  of 
the  Jews)  the  license  of  language  destroy  all  justness  of 
design?  There  must  be  some  accommodation  between 
the  two,  and  it  lies  in  this — we  have  no  right  to  depart 
from  a  common  or  possible  usage  of  words.  There  is 
our  limit  on  that  side.  Language  is  certain  up  to  that 
degree  of  precision  which  its  known  usage  gives  it.  If 
its  usage  could  in  the  nature  of  things  be  single,  as  was 
said  early  in  this  paper,  no  consideration  of  design  would 
be  needed.  But  to  meet  its  ambiguities  and  its  shaded 
and  varied  meanings,  direct  and  metonymical,  exact  and 
exaggerated,  literal  and  figurative,  something  else  is 
loudly  called  for;  and  the  principle  of  design,  if  it  but 
restrict  itself  to  the  limit  of  this  variety,  makes  interpre- 
tation actually  more  sure  and  safe.  One  is  a  check 
upon  the  other.  Language  limits  the  design;  this  defines 
the  language. 

It  is  time,  however,  now  to  ask  whence  this  previous 
acquaintance  with  design  is  gathered ;  for  it  must  be 
got  legitimately,  or  we  have  no  right  to  use  it.  What 
has  been  pronounced  a  real,  necessary,  and  instinctive 
act  of  the  mind  in  reading,  must  be  only  a  perversion 
and  a  prejudice,  unless  it  traces  itself  back  to  a  foothold 
in  the  truth.  The  moment,  too,  it  does  trace  itself  back, 
it  becomes  available  orally  to  defend,  as  it  was  mentally 
to  discover  the  meaning  of  the  passage,  in  the  reading 
of  which  it  has  been  enlisted;  it  becoming  possible,  as  it 
does  with  all  instinctive  acts  of  the  mind,  to  dissect  and 
set  it  down,  step  by  step,  in  writing,  and  then  to  use  it, 

5 


50  PRINCIPLE  OF  DESIGN. 

as  we  wish  to  do  hereafter,  as  a  Hnk  in  logical  argu- 
ment. 

Now,  for  that  general  acquaintance  w^ith  design  with 
which  we  come  to  the  reading  of  a  text  in  scripture, 
three  sources  may  be  given.  The  list  might  be  length- 
ened. Experience  and  testimony  might  be  added  to  it ; 
indeed,  any  source  of  certain  knowledge.  1.  The  intui- 
tive truths  of  the  mind.  2.  Other  scripture.  3.  Deduc- 
tions from  other  scripture. 

1.  As  to  the  intuitive  truths  of  the  mind,  no  fear  need 
be  had  of  giving  in  to  the  idea  that  they  sway  the  sense 
in  reading,  however  cautious  men  ought  to  be  in  doing 
homage  to  the  human  mind  by  setting  it  as  judge 
over  revelation.  For  to  intuitive  truths  every  thing 
must  bow.  It  is  on  intuitive  truth  that  all  faith  in  a 
Bible,  or  even  in  God's  being  is  pillared.  The  mind's 
intuition  is  the  first  and  highest  voice  of  God  to  man  ; 
so  that  it  is  but  a  light  honour  to  put  upon  it  to  say  that 
it  helps  men  to  honour  God's  design  in  sentences  of 
scripture,  when  all  scripture  and  all  faith  must  in  the 
nature  of  things  acknowledge  it  as  their  last  appeal. 

If  a  text  should  appear  in  the  Bible  in  letter  com- 
manding us  to  blaspheme  God,  the  intuitive  principle 
would  just  as  promptly  revolt  against  a  literal  meaning, 
and  force  the  mind  to  recognise  some  other  design,  as 
it  would  revolt  against  Berkeley's  notion  that  matter 
has  no  real  existence,  or  Pyrrho's  doctrine  of  the  certain 
existence  of  nothing.  So  when  a  text  does  appear 
saying,  that,  "  the  day  of  the  Lord  cometh,  cruel  both 
with  wrath  and  fierce  anger"^  or  that  "  God  hardened 
Pharaoh's  heart,'"'  or  that  "  this  cup  is  the  New  Testa- 

*  Isaiah  xiii.  9.  ^  Exodus  x.  20. 


PRINCIPLE  OF  DESIGN.  61 

ment  in  my  blood,"*  the  same  inward  voice  cries  out 
against  the  blasphemous  or  absurd  rendering  in  either 
sentence,  and  turns  the  mind  in  search  after  another. 
Some  previous  acquaintance  with  design,  then,  is  had 
by  intuition. 

2.  Much  more  is  had  by  scripture  previously  read.  A 
clear  revelation  on  any  page,  the  mind  at  once  seizes  as 
a  standard  for  every  other.  These  standards  multiply 
and  gather  in  the  mind  as  we  read  on,  so  that  we  cannot 
be  reading  long  without  forming  something  like  a  system 
in  our  minds, — God's  harmonized  will,  as  it  has  appeared 
to  us;  and  this  goes  with  us  in  after  reading,  a  test,  as  it 
grows,  of  all  additions  to  itself. 

3.  This  would  be  quite  enough  to  meet  the  ambiguities 
of  language,  if  they  w^ere  its  only  imperfection.  But 
language  lacks  in  fulness,  as  well  as  in  precision.  The 
Bible  reveals  all  truth  that  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  know, 
virtually,  but  not  verbally.  Thought  is  a  plane ;  lan- 
guage touches  its  surface  only  at  scattered  points ;  and 
all  the  intermediate  spaces,  where  it  fails  in  contact,  the 
mind  must  supply.  The  world  itself  could  not  contain 
the  books  that  should  be  written  if  every  shade  of  neces- 
sary truth  were  formally  expressed  in  revelation.  The 
lack  of  this  is  no  evil,  if  the  mind  be  set  to  the  work  for 
which  God  made  it:  by  legitimate  deduction  to  fill  up 
the  chasms  of  scripture.  Revelation,  in  effect,  includes 
all  doctrines  that  by  sound  reasoning  are  drawn  from 
it ;  they  were  in  the  mind  of  God  when  He  gave  the 
parent  truth  from  which  they  are  deduced.  The  exact 
thought  of  revelation  is  but  the  framework  of  our  faith, 

»  Luke  xxii.  20. 


52  PRINCIPLE  OF  DESIGN. 

— the  seeds  of  things  intended  for  growth  and  increase 
in  the  soil  of  the  mind. 

If  this  be  not  so,  why  do  nnen  resort  to  homiUes  and 
expositions  to  fill  out  and  enlarge  upon  the  word  ?  Let 
its  letter  be  enough,  if  study  can  gain  from  it  no  addi- 
tional instruction.  It  is  unquestionably  a  perfect  rule  of 
faith,  but  only  so,  when  viewed  in  that  office  for  which 
it  was  given,  as  a  guide  and  basis  of  evidence  to  intelli- 
gent and  reasoning  minds.  God  meant  it  to  bring  into 
act  every  faculty  of  the  soul,  in  weighing,  discrimi- 
nating, enlarging,  balancing,  in  all  intellectual  exercise 
by  which  one  truth  seeks  its  sanction  in  another. 

As  illustration  we  quote  again,  "  Thou  shalt  not  kill." 
It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  what  varied  action  of  the 
mind  this  httle  text  requires. 

First,  other  scripture  occurs  to  narrow  down  its 
meaning.  It  cannot  be  God's  design  to  say,  clear  of 
all  reserve,  "  Thou  shalt  not  kill,"  or  else  he  would 
not  have  enjoined  animal  sacrifices  upon  Abel,  or  have 
granted  animal  food  to  Noah.  Nor,  imagining  human 
life  to  be  alone  referred  to,  could  it  yet  be  his  design  to 
say,  positively,  "  Thou  shalt  not  kill ;"  for  cases^of  sanc- 
tioned war,^  and  the  law  of  capital  punishment^  prove 
the  contrary. 

Then  when  direct  scripture  has  gone  so  far,  fair  de- 
duction must  go  still  farther.  A  thousand  minor  cases 
require  settlement.  When  may  life  be  sacrificed  for 
great  national  ends?  When,  in  the  various  instances 
that  may  occur,  may  one  life  go  for  the  rescue  of  many  1 
How  far  may  life  be  jeoparded,  and  for  what  ends  1  We 

*  Joshua  viii.  1.  ^  Genesis  ix.  6. 


PRINCIPLE  OF  DESIGN.  63 

meet  all  such  questions  virtually  by  appeal  to  scripture, 
yet  not  to  the  letter  of  scripture,  but  to  the  design ;  and 
the  task  to  gather  this  is  thrown  upon  the  judgment  of 
the  reader. 

But  now  still  another  step  :  the  command  is  one  of  the 
decalogue,  and  must  have  its  wide  and  spiritual  mean- 
ing ;  for  it  has  its  place  to  fill  in  that  moral  law  which 
is  exceeding  broad.  Here  opens  an  illimitable  field  on 
which  the  bare  command,  "Thou  shalt  do  no  murder," 
is  but  the  starting  point.  All  the  language  ever  spoken 
cannot  cover  it,  we  mean  specifically  and  in  every 
minute  application.  The  mind,  taking  with  it  such  ex- 
amples of  interpretation  as  that  in  Matt.  v.  22,  where 
Christ  brings  causeless  anger  under  this  commandment, 
must  by  just  inference  fill  out  the  spiritual  sense,  letting 
this  command  like  the  rest  of  the  ten  grow  wide  and 
long  before  its  eye,  till  together  they  embody  the  whole 
of  morals,  engrossing  in  their  comprehensiveness,  that 
all  engrossing  law — the  Law  of  Love. 

Thus  our  view  is  finished  of  that  system  of  ways  and 
means  by  w^hich  God's  mind  is  opened  to  his  creatures. 
Now  the  v/hole  meets  a  beautiful  analogy  in  nature. 
God's  mind  is  the  sun  of  the  spiritual  world.  Man's 
mind  is  the  eye,  without  which  the  light  is  wasted.  It 
has  nowhere  else  to  impress  itself.  Man's  reason  is 
the  judge  to  discriminate  the  shape  and  colour  of  what 
is  seen,  and  to  divide  between  the  light  and  the  dark- 
ness ;  misused,  if  it  judge  farther  than  its  judgment  lies  ; 
as  much  so  as  if  an  eye  should  labour  to  discern  the 
centre  instead  of  the  surface  of  surrounding  objects,  or 
refuse  to  own  them  to  be  there  unless  it  could  see  through 
them ;  but  totally  abused,  if  it  imagine  that  it  has  not 
some  judgment  on  every  truth  that  the  mind  receives,  as 

5^ 


54  PRINCIPLE  OF  DESIGN. 

certainly  as  sensation  has  on  every  shade  or  shape  that 
the  eye  takes  in.  Language  is  the  medium  that  conveys 
the  light,  dark  in  itself,  bright  only  as  the  carrier  of  those 
transnnitted  rays.  But  where  is  the  analogy  for  what 
we  have  claimed  in  design. 

Philosophers  tell  us  that  if  the  diffusion  of  light  de- 
pended solely  upon  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun,  every  thing 
would  be  in  darkness,  that  did  not  stand  in  those  rays. 
The  sun  would  have  to  shine  immediately  upon  an  object 
to  render  it  visible  at  all,  and  even  then  we  could  see  it 
only  on  its  illuminated  side.  That  light  which  is  now 
poured  over  all  nature,  which  penetrates  the  forest,  which 
bathes  the  mountain,  which  goes  down  into  the  cavern, 
which  visits  us  in  our  houses,  awakening  us  before  the 
sun  and  cheering  us  after  its  going  down,  all  diffused 
light,  would  vanish.  Day  and  night  would  be  alike  any- 
where but  under  direct  solar  power. 

What  principle  is  that,  beyond  direct  illumination,  that 
orders  the  system  as  it  is  1  Reflection.  One  object,  when 
illuminated,  lights  up  the  rest.  The  air,  the  clouds,  the 
earth  throw  back  the  rays  and  scatter  them,  and  thus 
fill  the  spaces  which  otherwise  they  could  not  reach.  A 
thousand  objects  that  have  never  seen  the  sun,  borrow 
his  1'ght  from  those  right  under  bis  beams. 

The  analogy  could  scarcely  be  more  complete.  Re- 
flection does  not  create  light.  It  only  scatters  it.  It 
makes  one  illumination  do  the  work  of  many  ;  carrying 
the  ray  shed  on  one  point,  and  diffusing  it  over  a  thou- 
sand others.  Mark,  too,  it  not  only  extends,  but  corrects 
our  vision.  Objects,  of  which,  without  it,  but  one  side 
w^ould  be  revealed,  and  which  hence,  in  many  positions, 
would  send  us  a  distorted  outhne,  horned  or  cusped,  this 
would  unfold  in  their  true  form  and  colouring,  giving  us 


miNCIPLE  OF  DESIGN.  55 

the  advantage  in  our  judgment  of  their  perspective  and 
their  shade. 

But  we  hasten  on  from  mere  illustration  to  reach  again 
a  point  of  absorbing  interest,  which  from  the  first  has 
been  kept  anxiously  in  view.  Is  there  not  danger  in  this 
whole  matter  1  Can  any  man  be  safe  in  the  use  of  such 
a  key  to  revelation  1 

We  need  not  hesitate.  Certainly  there  is  the  utmost 
danger.  So  long  as  the  human  mind  is  not  only  fal- 
lible, but  prone  to  falsehood,  how  could  we  dream  of 
safety  in  its  judgments  1  Nay,  give  it  up  to  itself,  and 
we  might  be  sure  that  it  would  judge  wrong,  nor  gather 
one  spiritual  truth  from  the  whole  of  revelation.^ 

But  then,  while  this  is  sober  fact,  it  is  wild  argument. 
Each  step  in  thought  that  the  unconverted  mind  takes  is 
perilous  ;  shall  it  take  none?  All  uses  of  the  mind  in  in- 
quiry after  God  are  fraught  with  danger ;  are  they  there- 
fore false  or  vain  uses  ?  The  fact  is,  the  objection  lies  as 
much  against  the  whole  of  reading  as  against  this  part 
of  it.  Mind  must  be  appealed  to  ;  if  not  for  design,  then 
for  grammar  itself.  Who  knows  not  how  words  are 
warped  and  changed  under  the  pretence  of  strict  philo- 
logy ;  how  the  dearest  articles  of  our  faith  are  taken 
from  us  sentence  by  sentence,  under  the  sanction  of 
alleged  usage  ?  Germany,  where  the  varieties  of  lan- 
guage have  been  most  deeply  studied,  is  witness  enough, 
that  if  danger  must  condemn,  then  all  interpretation 
must  be  given  up. 

Even  inspiration  asks  for  mind,  and,  therefore,  argues 
danger.  Those  visions  of  Balaam,  the  sceptre  rising 
out  of  Israel  and  the  star  out  of  Jacob,  did  not  so  write 

*  1  Corinthians  ii.  14. 


56  PRINCIPLE  OF  DESIGN. 

their  truth  on  the  heart  of  the  seer,  that  he  could  not 
pervert  them.  Is,  therefore,  the  use  or  worth  of  inspira- 
tion nothing?  Prove  that  man  can  deal  with  truth, 
without  help  from  mind,  or  prove  that  apostate  mind 
can  walk  in  any  path  to  truth,  and  be  infallible,  or  else 
confess  that  danger  alone  proves  nothing  in  the  matter. 
But  let  us  not  dismiss  this  fact.  There  is  danger. 
The  position  which  it  cannot  overthrow,  it  may  favour 
and  confirm.  Set  over  against  it  another  fact,  for  which 
we  have  appealed  to  consciousness  and  accumulated 
proof,  that  no  man  can  read  a  sentence  without  the  help 
of  preconceived  notions  of  design,  be  they  true  or  false, 
and  we  have,  first  of  all,  the  explanation  of  a  noted 
problem  in  religion.  How  is  so  brief  a  book  as  the 
Bible  made  to  speak  so  many  languages,  in  becoming 
the  basis,  as  it  has,  of  so  manifold,  nay,  and  opposite 
systems  of  belief?  The  truth  is  notorious,  that  all  forms 
of  obliquity  in  faith  or  morals  profess  their  own  warrant 
in  this  single  volume,  a  truth  pointing  plainly  on  the  one 
hand  to  the  slenderness  of  the  self-limiting  power  of 
language,  and  on  the  other,  to  the  potency  of  that  mental 
instinct,  if  we  may  call  it  so,  which  brings  the  precon- 
ceived ideas  of  the  mind  to  mingle  in  the  work  of  read- 
ing. A  scrupulous  man,  possessed  with  a  corresponding 
notion  of  God's  design,  opens  the  book  only  to  find  the 
spirit  of  his  own  bondage  copied  there.  "  Resist  not 
evil :  but  whosoever  shall  smite  thee  on  thy  right  cheek, 
turn  to  him  the  other  also."^  "  Give  to  him  that  asketh 
thee,  and  from  him  that  would  borrow  of  thee  turn  not 
thou  away."^  The  Universahst  strengthens  himself  there 
in  his  doctrine.     "  Who  (God)  will  have  all  men  to  be 

*  Matt.  V.  39.  b  Matt.  v.  42. 


PRINCIPLE  OF  DESIGN.  57 

saved,"  &c.  "  Who  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all,"  &c.* 
"Not  willing  that  any  should  perish,"  &c.^  So  the  Per- 
fectionist :  "  Whosoever  is  born  of  God  doth  not  commit 
sin  ;  he  cannot  sin,  because  he  is  born  of  God."*=  "  Be 
ye,  therefore,  perfect  as  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven 
is  perfect.""^  And  the  Antinomian  :  *'  Now  we  are  de- 
livered from  the  law,"^  &c.  And  lastly  the  superstitious 
man,  pleading  for  all  literal  senses  and  exalting  every 
thing  external.  "  This  is  my  body  which  is  broken  for 
you."*"  "Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the 
Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God."= 

Now,  it  will  not  do  to  say,  the  very  fault  is,  that  these 
preconceived  notions  should  be  allowed  any  voice ;  so 
it  is,  if  you  refer  to  their  error,  but  by  no  means,  if  you 
refer  to  the  whole  fact  of  preconception.  It  is  necessary 
— they  will  enter ;  if  not  falsely  coloured,  they  would  be 
vital  to  the  discovery  of  truth.  If  an  eye  be  jaundiced, 
the  way  to  provide  against  false  judgments  is  to  cure  it, 
not  to  put  it  out.  Then  here  :  until  you  prove  that  you 
can  digest  fresh  truth  with  no  help  from  what  has  been 
taken  into  the  mind  before ;  that,  empty  of  every  thing 
but  the  mere  machinery  of  words,  you  are  fit  for  the 
work  of  reading  ;  that  thought  asks  nothing  from  former 
thought,  but  increases  wisdom  by  accumulation  and  not 
by  growth,  you  must  rest  contented  in  making  safe  and 
sure,  what  you  cannot  abandon. 

Can  it  be  made  sure  ?  Certainly :  just  as  any  other  act 
of  the  mind.  How  can  it  be  made  sure  ?  To  the  extent 
of  speculative  soundness,  just  as  any  other  act  of  the  mind 
may  be  made  so — by  a  sound  and  wise  preconception, 
resting  on  a  sober  previous  study  of  the  truth.     It  is  the 

*  1  Tim.  ii.  4,  6.     ^2  Peter  iii.  9.     <=  ]  John  iii.  9.     ^  Matt.  v.  48. 

*  Romans  vii.  6.     ^  1  Cor.  xi.  24.     §  John  iii.  5. 


58  PRINCIPLE  OF  DESIGN. 

"  Qiilearned  and  unstable  that  wrest  the  Scriptures  to 
their  own  destruction."''  To  the  extent  of  spiritual 
soundness,  however,  and  a  saving  apprehension  of  the 
truth,  and,  indeed,  we  may  say,  to  the  point  of  entire 
safety,  either  speculatively  or  spiritually,  it  can  be  made 
sure  only  by  the  special  guidance  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
For  "  the  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the 
Spirit  of  God,"^  &c. 

The  analogy  of  faith,  as  framed  in  the  mind  of  an 
unconverted  man,  is  valuable  in  proportion  as  it  is 
rationally  well  considered  ;  but,  since  it  can  be  only  an 
intellectual  system,  it  must  fail  to  introduce  him  to  any 
saving  truth,  and  may  shape  itself  in  the  grossest  specu- 
lative error.  What  can  make  us  sure  ?  A  sense  of 
design  framed  under  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

To  establish  this  Principle  of  Design  as  a  test  in  con- 
troversy, is  that  for  which  this  chapter  has  been  made 
the  first  step  in  our  discussion.  We  need  it  specially  in 
studying  the  nature  of  the  visible  church.  Who  is  not 
tired  of  hearing  controversy  on  this  head,  turning  end- 
lessly on  one  or  two  narrow  ambiguous  scriptures,  which 
God  never  meant  as  our  chief  light  in  shaping  the  order 
of  His  church,  which  may  be  proved  to  be  susceptible 
of  debate  indefinitely,  and,  therefore,  over  which  men 
may  battle  till  the  end  of  time,  and  still  read  them  each 
in  their  own  tongue  wherein  they  were  born.  A  pattern- 
ing after  nature,  by  a  simple  watching  of  the  instincts, 
or  native  impulses  of  the  mind,  would  totally  cure  men 
of  such  waste  discussion.  How  does  the  mind,  in  its 
earliest  and  most  unbiassed  movement,  meet  such  a  text 
as  this,  "  I  have  said,  ye  are  gods."«    Not  by  long  in- 

*  2  Pet.  iii.  16.  ^  I  Cor.  ii.  14.  ^  Ys.  Ixxxii.  6. 


PRINCIPLE  OF  DESIGN.  59 

ward  contention  over  the  words  themselves,  but  by  in- 
stantly and  briefly  referring  them  back,  for  limitation, 
to  the  general  truth,  there  are  no  more  Gods  than  one. 
So  of  the  church  and  all  externals.     We  cannot  help 
framing  for  ourselves  w^ide  gospel  principles  in  regard 
to  them,  and  on  them  the  mind  instinctively  falls  back 
when  any  language  jars  with  them.     "  This  is  my  body," 
for  example.     It  is  artificial  and  opposed  to  nature  for 
the  mind  to  debate  over  mere  grammar,  in  a  case  like 
this,  when  it  has  once  appeared,  that  it  can  mean  some- 
thing else  than  its  baldest,  briefest  sense.     That  moment 
the  mere  verbal  controversy  has  pronounced  itself  in- 
terminable, and  the  mind  is  longing  to  cast  herself  back 
upon  broader  principles,  and  the  grander  and  better  wit- 
nessed  doctrine   of  the  gospel,  thereby  to  digest  and 
decide  the  passage.     This  is  nature — the  instinct  of  the 
mind,  and  as  with  all  natural  instinct,  it  is  logical  and 
true.     The  mind,  fresh  and  not  yet  touched  by  prejudice, 
will  follow  it ;  and  we  have  but  to  observe  our  minds, 
and  copy  their  working,  to  get  upon  our  paper  the  briefest 
and  strongest  mode  of  settling  Bible  questions,  the  most 
certain  to  convince,  because  the  mind  intuitively  resorts 
to  it  to  convince  herself,  and  the  least  open  to  a  challenge, 
because  appealing  back  at  once  out  of  the  reach  of  lesser 
and  more  entangled   questions  to  the  broad  and  high 
ground  of  the  gospel.     The  fact  is,  we  talk  about  it  as 
wise  to  bring  out  orally  and  in  writing,  that  method  to 
which  the  mind  secretly  and  of  herself  resorts  ;  but  it 
is  more  than  wise.    It  is  necessary  and  universal.    Most 
arguments  virtually  use  it.     And  only  because  it  is  not 
more  distinctly  recognised  and  stated,  does  it  so  seldom 
do  what  in  many  a  private  mind  it  has  often  done,  ?'.  e., 
seal  and  settle  controversy. 


60  '  PRINCIPLE  OF  DESIGN. 

Our  only  choice  is,  whether  to  use  it  unwittingly  and 
wath  but  half  effect, — for  even  in  canvassing  one  verse, 
we  must  use  it — or  to  give  it  such  depth  and  prominence, 
that  we  may  mould  whole  arguments  upon  it. 

What  is  the  design  of  all  religion  ?  Included  in  this, 
what  is  the  design  of  all  externals  in  religion?  In- 
cluded in  this,  what  is  the  design  of  an  external  church  ? 
Such  thorough  carrying  out  of  our  own  principle  will 
be  the  business  of  the  remaining  chapters,  and  will  fur- 
nish us,  we  trust,  with  tests  for  a  whole  circle  of  refuted 
errors  as  to  the  sacraments  and  power  of  the  church. 


CHAPTER  II. 


THE  DESIGN  OF  RELIGION. 


The  word  religion,  in  comnaon  with  others  bearing  a 
like  relation  to  the  mind,  has  two  meanings.  It  means, 
the  service  of  God ;  or  it  means,  any  system  of  faith  and 
duty,  in  conformity  with  which  that  service  shapes  itself. 
These  two  meanings  are  recognised  in  Scripture.  "  If 
any  man  among  you  seem  to  be  religious,  and  bridleth 
not  his  tongue,  but  deceiveth  his  own  heart,  this  man's 
rehgion  is  vain.  Pure  religion,  and  undefiled  before 
God  and  the  Father,  is  this,  to  visit  the  fatherless  and 
widows  in  their  affliction,  and  to  keep  himself  unspotted 
from  the  world."^  "  Ye  have  heard  of  my  conversation 
in  time  past,  in  the  Jew's  religion,  how  I  profited  in 
the  Jew's  religion  above  many  my  equals  in  mine  own 
nation."^ 

These  meanings,  too,  respectively  exhaust  the  word. 
Religion,  in  the  first  sense,  or,  as  some  might  call  it, 
(though  it  would  seem  not  logically)  subjective  religion, 
cannot  be  more  than  the  service  of  God — service  of  course, 
we  mean,  whether  corporeal  or  mental — either  "  in  body 
or  in  spirit,  which  are  God's."  For  what  can  a  man  do 
religiously  other  than  move  his  body  in  work  or  wor- 
ship, or  exercise  his  soul  in  faith  and  love  as  the  servant 

a  James  i.  26,  27.  ^  Gal.  i.  13,  14. 

6 


62  THE  DESIGN  OF  RELIGION. 

of  his  maker  1  "  Fear  God  and  keep  his  command- 
ments, for  this  is  the  whole  duty  of  man."^'  "  What  doth 
the  Lord  require  of  thee,  but  to  do  justly,  and  to  love 
mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God  f^ 

Objective  religion,  on  the  other  hand,  cannot  be  more 
than  a  system  of  faith  and  duty  ;  for  what  else  can  the 
Holy  Spirit  reveal  to  man  besides  a  creed  of  tenets  to 
be  believed,  and  a  circle  of  acts  to  be  performed.  We 
said,  "  any  system,"  because  not  only  are  there  false 
religions  as  well  as  true,  but  true  religion  admits  of 
plurality.  The  religion  of  Adam,  before  he  fell,  was  not 
the  religion  of  his  children.  The  religion  of  Enoch 
and  Noah,  of  Melchizedek,  and  Job,  and  Jethro,  dif- 
fered widely  from  that  of  Aaron;  while  our  religion 
has  come  from  under  the  hand  of  Christ,  with  still  new 
differences. 

They  differ;  but  let  it  be  remembered  they  do  not 
disagree.  They  do  not  bear  that  mark  of  error — mutual 
contradiction.  They  change  only  to  meet  correspond- 
ing changes  in  God's  will,  as  to  worship — and  in  man's 
history,  as  to  faith.  Not  only  one  law  and  one  Deity, 
but  (with  all  but  that  first  mentioned, — the  religion  of 
man  in  innocence)  one  atonement  and  one  regeneration 
are  common  to  them  all.  However  many  their  points 
of  difference,  therefore,  they  may  be  regarded  as  one  in 
our  present  inquiry.  What  is  their  design  ?  (Of  course 
it  is  only  to  objective  religion  that  this  question  is  now 
pertinent.)  What  is  the  mind  of  God  in  framing  a  re- 
hgion  for  man  ? 

The  design  of  objective  religion  is  to  lead  men  to 
subjective  religion,  or  piety.     Or,  using  the  definitions 

*  Eccles.  xii.  13.  ^  Micah  vi,  8, 


THE  DESIGN  OF  RELIGION.  63 

that  have  been  given,  the  design  of  any  right  system  of 
faith  and  duty,  is  to  lead  men  to  the  service  of  God. 

Let  it  not  be  objected  that  this  statement  is  not  full 
enough,  and  that  the  service  and  love  of  God  would  be 
a  truer  expression  ;  for  love  is  one  form  of  service  :  nor 
that  knowledge  and  service  would  be  better;  for,  though 
this  would  be  even  more  plainly  to  our  purpose  than  the 
briefer  statement,  still  there  would  be  tautology ;  for, 
viewing  body  and  mind  together,  as  it  has  been  said  we 
must,  knowledge  is  as  much  a  form  of  service  as  love. 

Nor  let  it  be  objected  that  religion  is  for  man's  salva- 
tion, as  well  as  to  lead  him  to  the  service  of  God.  This 
is  only  mentioning  the  end  of  an  end ;  service,  the  end 
of  religion,  and  salvation,  one  end  of  service.  Religion 
can  be  conceived  to  contribute  to  the  last  in  no  way  else 
than  by  contributing  to  the  first. 

It  is  true  there  are  acts  bearing  on  salvation  which 
make  no  part  of  man's  service,  but  they  are  the  acts  of 
God,  and  therefore  not  religious  acts ;  so  there  are  truths 
relating  to  salvation  w^hich  stir  up  no  service  and  are 
no  objects  either  of  love  or  knowledge,  but  then  they 
are  truths  shut  up  in  the  mind  of  God,  and  therefore  not 
religious  truths.  True  religion  is  that  revealed  system 
of  faith  and  duty,  the  only  immediate  design  of  which 
is  to  lead  men  to  the  service  of  God. 

Thus  we  have  fixed  the  design. 

But  now  out  of  the  design  we  wish  to  frame  a  test. 
"  I  rather  think,"  says  Calvin,  "  the  word  (religion)  is 
opposed  to  a  liberty  of  wandering  without  restraint; 
because  the  greater  part  of  the  world  rashly  embrace 
whatever  they  meet  with,  and  also  ramble  from  one 
thing  to  another;  but  piety,  in  order  to  walk  with  a 
steady  step,  collects  {relegit)  itself  within  its  proper  limits. 


64  THE  DESIGN  OF  RELIGION. 

The  word  superstition  also  appears  to  me  to  import  a 
discontent  with  the  method  and  order  prescribed,  and 
an  accumulation  of  a  superfluous  mass  of  vain  things." 
Whether  Calvin's  derivations  be  good  or  not,  they  indi- 
cate very  aptly  just  what  we  wish  to  effect.  We  wish 
to  make  religion  (religere)  gather  itself  within  its  true 
limits,  by  help  of  a  test  gotten  from  its  own  design,  which 
shall  detect  at  once  whatever  {superest)  is  superstitious, 
so  that  a  clear  circle  of  separation  may  be  drawn. 

Now  the  sentence  already  fallen  upon:  the  design  of 
any  system  of  faith  and  duty  is  to  lead  men  to  the  service 
of  God,  though  it  does  not  yet  show  such  a  test,  yet  does 
in  fact  involve  one.  As  yet,  men  of  all  religions  would 
agree  in  it,  for  the  lowest  idolater,  except,  perhaps,  one 
given  up  to  demon  worship,  or  mere  exorcism,  would 
agree  that  a  religion,  whether  invented  or  revealed,  can 
have  no  other  use  to  him  than  to  lead  him  to  the  service 
of  his  deities.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  there  is  one 
expression  in  the  sentence  that  admits  of  further  defini- 
tion, and  which,  when  so  defined,  will  take  the  sentence 
out  of  the  mouth  of  the  idolater,  and  make  it  draw  a 
line  between  us  and  him.  That  expression  is,  the  ser- 
vice of  God.  The  idolater  agrees  to  the  sentence,  be- 
cause he  can  define  this  "  service"  as  he  will,  making 
his  own  foul  rites,  and  vain  gestures  and  attitudes,  apart 
of  it.  The  moment,  however,  the  ample  testimony  of 
the  Bible  is  brought  in,  to  limit  the  service,  and  show 
what  it  must  always  be,  the  religion  of  the  Bible,  and 
superstitious  departures  from  it,  can  no  longer  hold  the 
sentence  in  common,  but  will  find  in  it  a  convenient 
and  remarkably  clear  dividing  mark  between  them. 

A  single  text^  will  do  this  work  for  us.  We  choose 
^  John  iv.  24. 


THE  DESIGN  OF  RELIGION.  65 

it  for  its  comprehensive  simplicity)  and  we  use  but  one 
for  the  sake  of  brevity  and  singleness  in  the  application, 
only  taking  care  not  to  fall  into  the  mistake  we  have 
condemned,  of  trusting  for  authority  to  an  isolated  text, 
but  to  throw  down  into  a  note,  below,  a  full  list  of  con- 
current testimonies.^ 

"  God  is  a  spirit :  and  they  that  worship  Him,  must 
worship  Him  in  spirit,  and  in  truth." 

Let  it  be  premised,  that  the  circumstances  in  which 
these  words  were  uttered  do  not  change,  but  entirely 

*  John  iv.  23  .  "  But  the  hour  cometh,  and  now  is,  when  the  true  wor. 
shippers  shall  worship  the  Father  in  spirit  and  in  truth ;  for  the  Father 
seeketh  such  to  worship  Him." 

Psalm  li.  16,  17  :  "  For  thou  desirest  not  sacrifice,  else  would  I  give 
it :  thou  delightest  not  in  burnt  offering.  The  sacrifices  of  God  are  a 
broken  spirit ;  a  broken  and  a  contrite  heart,  O  God,  thou  wilt  not  de- 
spise." Psalm  1.  13,  etc. 

Matt.  XV.  8  :  "  This  people  draweth  nigh  unto  me  with  their  mouth, 
and  honoureth  me  with  their  lips :  but  their  heart  is  far  from  me.  But 
in  vain  they  do  worship  me,  teaching  for  doctrines  the  commandments 
of  men."  Isaiah  xxix.  13;  Ezra,  xxxiii.  31. 

Acts  xvii.  25 :  "  Neither  is  God  worshipped  with  men's  hands,  as 
though  he  needed  any  thing ;  seeing  he  giveth  to  aU  life,  and  breath,  and 
all  things."  Acts  vii.  48. 

Rom.  i.  9  :  "  God  is  my  witness,  whom  I  serve  with  my  spirit  in  the 
gospel  of  his  Son,"  etc. 

Rom.  ii.  28,  29  :  "  For  he  is  not  a  Jew  which  is  one  outwardly ;  nei- 
ther is  that  circumcision  which  is  outward  in  the  flesh :  but  he  is  a  Jew 
which  is  one  inwardly ;  and  circumcision  is  that  of  the  heart,  in  the 
spirit,  and  not  in  the  letter,  whose  praise  is  not  of  men,  but  of  God."  1 
Cor.  vii.  19  ;  Heb.  ix.  9. 

Rom.  xii.  1 :  "  Reasonable  service"  {xoyiKnv). 

Phil.  iii.  3  :  "  For  we  are  the  circumcision,  which  worship  God  in  the 
spirit,  and  rejoice  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  have  no  confidence  in  the  flesh." 

Acts  xvii.  23 :  "  Whom,  therefore,  ye  ignorantly  worship,  him  declare 
I  unto  you." 

6* 


66  THE  DESIGN  OF  RELIGION. 

confirm  their  apparent  and  simple  meaning.  Christ  is 
speaking,  at  the  well,  with  the  woman  of  Samaria.  Halfj 
perhaps,  to  turn  off  the  conversation  from  a  more  deli- 
cate subject,  the  woman  introduces  the  vexed  question  be- 
tween Mount  Gerizzim  and  Jerusalem,  as  places  "  where 
men  ought  to  worship."  Christ,  aware  that  much  of 
the  importance  of  this  question  was  borrowed  from  the 
superstitious  reliance  of  the  rival  worshippers  upon  their 
sacred  places,  and  that  in  the  mind  of  this  woman  it 
won  its  interest  from  her  care  for  the  place,  and  words, 
and  rites  of  worship,  rather  than  for  its  intelligence  and 
truthfulness,  replied  by  uttering  two  predictions : — first, 
that  these  hostile  sanctuaries  should  be  forsaken,  for  the 
hour  should  come  in  which  neither  in  that  mountain,  nor 
yet  at  Jerusalem,  should  men  worship  the  Father ;  and 
second,  that  a  race  of  intelligent  worshippers  was  even 
then  springing  up,  for  the  hour  was  coming,  and  had 
already  come,  when  the  true  worshippers  should  wor- 
ship the  Father  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  Then  follows 
what  stands  above,  its  force  made  obvious  by  that  trust 
to  outward  forms  that  it  was  intended  to  rebuke — "  God 
is  a  spirit :  and  they  that  worship  Him,  must  worship 
Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth." 

Here  are  two  defining  rules  for  subjective^  religion, 
or  the  service  of  God. 

1.  It  must  be  "  in  spirit."  Now  the  reason  prefixed 
to  this,  places  its  meaning  beyond  a  doubt.  "  God  is  a 
spirit ;"  that  is,  an  immaterial  being ;  "  and  (so)  they 
that  worship  Him,  must  worship  Him,"  not  spirit  with 
matter,  but  spirit  with  spirit,  i.  e.,  "  in  spirit."  The 
simple  sense,  therefore,  of  this  half  of  the  rule  must  be,. 

*  We  use  this  word  for  its  convenience  and  intelligibleness,  rather  than 
for  its  exact  appropriateness. 


THE  DESIGN  OF  RELIGION.  67 

that  the  whole  of  worship  must  be  done  by  the  imma- 
terial part  of  man ;  and  that  if  material  forms  come  in 
at  all,  such  as  attitudes,  or  words,  or  motions, — such  as 
rites  or  sacrifices, — such  as  times  or  places,  it  must  be 
just  as  instruments  for  the  soul,  of  no  worth  in  them- 
selves, and  of  no  worth  at  ali,  but  as  the  soul  is  in  them. 

Though  the  rule  is  brief,  therefore,  it  is  clear  and 
wide,  rebuking  not  only  the  viler  superstitions,  as  where 
a  heathen  offers  food  to  his  idol,  or  gives  his  own  body 
to  appease  him,  nor  only  rebuking  the  higher  form  in 
which  the  Samaritan  and  the  Jew  transgressed,  by 
thinking  a  prayer  on  Gerizzim,  or  an  offering  at  either 
temple,  good  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  heart  that  might 
be  in  it,  but  equally  rebuking  the  no  more  refined  nor 
rational  idolatries  of  our  age  and  church. 

At  first  glance  it  might  seem  that  here  already  is  the 
promised  test.  "  The  design  of  any  system  of  faith  and 
duty  is  to  lead  men  to  such  '  a  service  of  God'  as  is 
strictly  '  in  spirit' — a  service  of  mind  to  mind — of  the 
spiritual  part  of  man  to  God,  who  is  a  Spirit."  But  the 
reply  of  opponents,  against  whom  this  test  might  be 
used,  would  soon  convince  us  that  it  is  not  enough.  If 
religion  were  altogether  an  isolated  and  private  thing 
between  God  and  one  soul,  it  would  do  ;  exposing  ad- 
mirably, as  it  must,  the  folly  of  men  who  hope  to  please 
God  by  outward  sacrament  or  prayer,  or  any  bodily 
attitude  or  change,  any  farther  than  the  heart  goes  out 
in  them  in  spiritual  worship.  But  then  religion  is  not 
an  isolated  thing,  but  social,  not  only  between  God  and 
one  soul,  but  between  one  soul  (or  the  church,  which  is 
an  aggregate  of  souls)  and  another.  So  that  this  test, 
though  it  may  condemn  a  man  for  expecting  blessing 
on  prayer,  when  his  own  mind  is  not  in  it,  does  not 


68  THE  DESIGN  OP  RELIGION. 

condemn  a  man  for  expecting  blessing  on  prayer  for 
others,  when  their  mind  is  not  in  it;  for  prayer  and 
preaching,  and  disciphne,  and  all  other  social  acts,  may 
do  infidels  and  blasphemers  good,  though  at  the  time 
they  may  be  not  only  unassenting,  but  hostile.  So,  too, 
then,  errorists  may  say,  it  may  condemn  ministers  for 
administering  sacraments  with  the  hand  alone,  and  not 
the  heart, — but  it  does  not  condemn  the  idea  of  direct 
and  mystic  efficacy  from  those  sacraments  to  others 
whose  bodies  only  receive  them. 

In  one  word,  this  first  defining  rule,  "  m  spiuit,"  will 
serve  us  admirably  where,  in  religious  acts,  the  agent 
only  is  in  view,  but  not  so  well  if  used  directly,  in  what 
concerns  the  subjects  of  such  acts.  The  second  rule, 
however,  will  cover  the  whole  ground,  and  three  sepa- 
rate tests  may  be  argued  out  of  it,  each  of  them  com- 
plete for  every  case. 

2.  God's  service  must  be  "  in  truth" — that  is,  to  take 
the  simplest  paraphrase,  it  must  be  true  service,  or  that 
which  truly  serves  the  Being  to  whom  it  is  directed.  It 
must  harmonize,  therefore,  with  the  nature  of  God.^ 
Now,  what  is  that  nature  ?  I  shall  be  content  with  three 
cardinal  attributes,  and  one  of  them  repeated  from  the 
text, 

1,  "God  is  a  spirit;"  and,  therefore,  the  design  of 
religion  is  to  lead  men  to  the  service  of  God  as  a  spirit. 

This  single  test  of  the  three  includes  the  last  rule  alto- 

*  This  rule  is  virtually  im^YieA  in  the  other;  for  if  service  to  God  must 
be  "  in  spirit,"  i.  e,,  an  intellig-ent  service,  it  must  be,  therefore,  by  easy- 
inference,  an  appropriate  service.  Besides,  (to  add  a  third  confirmation 
to  the  rule,)  the  text  itself  argues  from  the  necessity  of  such  appro- 
priateness : — "  God  is  a  spirit,  and  (therefore)  they  that  worship  Him 
must  worship  Him  in  spirit,"  &.c. 


THE  DESIGN  OF  RELIGION. 


69 


gether.  If  God  must  be  served  as  a  Spirit,  then  to 
serve  him  *'  in  spirit,"  is  the  most  natural  and  simplest 
requisite.     The  test,  however,  includes  more. 

If  the  design  of  religion  be  to  lead  men  to  the  service 
of  God  as  a  Spirit,  then  it  cannot  be  the  design  of  reli- 
gion to  teach  any  doctrine,  or  ordinance,  that  obscures 
the  spirituality  of  God. 

All  that  is  cared  for  now  is  to  establish  the  truth  of 
the  tests.  Their  application  to  particular  heresies  will 
come  in  the  sequel. 

The  two  remaining  ones  are  derived  from  those  dis- 
tinguishing features  of  true  religion— the  offices  of  the 
Second  and  Third  Persons  of  the  Trinity. 

2.  God  is  our  Redeemer— Christ  Jesus.  Therefore 
the  design  of  religion  is,  to  lead  men  to  the  service  of 
God  our  Redeemer. 

Before  using  the  test  that  is  drawn  out  from  this,  it 
might  at  first  sight  seem  necessary  to  define  exactly 
what  Christ's  redemption  is.  But  it  will  at  once  seem 
not  necessary  when  it  is  avowed  that  the  argument  does 
not  depend  upon  the  soundest  views  of  that  much-debated 
doctrine,  and  therefore  spending  time  in  making  good 
such  views,  when  they  are  really  not  indispensable  in 
the  way  of  argument,  would  only  unnecessarily  perplex 
and  delay,  besides  giving  a  handle  to  cast  off  the  whole, 
to  those  whom  we  wish,  on  this  very  account,  to  meet 
as  far  as  possible  on  their  own  ground. 

All  who  have  the  shadow  of  a  title  to  the  name  of 
Christians,  believe  that  something  that  Christ  did  was 
necessary  in  the  eye  of  God  (if  not  by  eternal  right,  yet 
by  God's  will)  for  the  salvation  of  men  ;^  and  that  the 

=^  Where  truth  stands  so  confessed,  and  is  so  rife  in  all  scripture,  it 
is  scarcely  worth  while  to  multiply  proof  texts ;  but  as  we  wish  to  base 


70  THE  DESIGN  OF  RELIGION. 

recognition  of  this  by  men  is  a  nnatter  of  such  moment 
in  practical  religion,  that  unless  in  some  way  they  be- 
lieve it  and  trust  in  it,  they  cannot  be  saved.  Then, 
we  are  ready  for  the  test. 

If  the  design  of  religion  be  to  lead  men  to  the  service 
of  God  our  Redeemer,  the«  it  cannot  be  the  design  of 
religion  to  teach  any  doctrine  or  ordinance  that  obscures 
the  work  of  Christ  as  our  Redeemer. 

Again,  3.  God  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  our  Sanctifier. 
Therefore  the  design  oi  religion  is  to  lead  men  to  the 
service  of  God,  our  Sanctifier. 

Asking,  as  before,  only  the  most  general  acknow- 
ledgm.ent  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  viz.,  that 
this  power  is  somehow  exerted,  and  that  necessarily,  in 
sanctifying  the  soul,^  and  that  a  recognition  of  this  is  a 
part  of  His  worship  ;  then  we  say, — 

all  regularly  on  the  Bible,  we  quote  a  few.  If  they  are  familiar,  and 
acknowledged  in  the  sense  we  give  them,  it  is  what  the  very  design  of 
this  treatise  claims  that  all  its  texts  should  be,  aiming  as  it  does  to  get 
back  to  the  higher  and  less  contested  ground  of  revelation. 

1  Tim.  ii.  5,  6  :  "  There  is  one  Mediator  between  God  and  men,  the 
man  Christ  Jesus ;  who  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all,  to  be  testified  in 
due  time."     Matt.  xx.  28  ;  Is.  liii.  5,  8,  11. 

Heb.  ix.  28:  "Christ  was  once  offered  to  bear  the  sins  of  many." 
Dan.  ix.  24,  26 ;  Tit.  ii.  14. 

Rev.  i.  5  :  "  Unto  him  that  loved  us,  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in 
his  own  blood,"  &c. 

Gal.  vi.  14  :  "  But  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory  save  in  the  cross  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

'  John  vi.  63  :  "  It  is  the  Spirit  that  quickeneth ;  the  flesh  profiteth 
nothing." 

Rom.  viii.  9  :  "  If  any  man  have  not  the  spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  his." 

1  Cor.  iii.  13 :  "  Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the  temple  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  you  ?" 

Matt.  iii.  31:"  He  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost." 

1  Cor.  vi.  11 :  "Ye  are  washed,  ye  are  sanctified,  ye  are  justified,  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God," 


THE  DESIGN  OF  RELIGION.  71 

If  the  design  of  religion  be  to  lead  men  to  the  service 
of  God,  our  Sanctifier,  then  it  cannot  be  the  design  of 
religion  to  teach  any  doctrine  or  ordinance  that  obscures 
the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  our  Sanctifier. 

Thus  this  chapter  has  established  criteria,  both  posi- 
tive and  negative,  to  which  every  thing  in  religion  may 
be  brought.  The  positive  shall  be  used  in  the  two  chap- 
ters that  follow ;  the  negative  in  two  that  are  beyond 
them. 


CHAPTER  III.    • 

THE  DESIGN  OF  EXTERNALS  IN  RELIGION. 

Let  us  recapitulate.  Starting  with  what  is  almost  a 
truism,  The  design  of  religion  is  to  lead  men  to  religion, 
and  substituting  for  the  word,  in  these  two  w^ell-known 
senses,  definitions  that  no  one  can  dispute,  we  reached 
the  sentence,  The  design  of  any  system  of  faith  and  duty, 
is  to  had  men  to  the  service  of  God.  This  sentence  was 
confessed  to  be  so  indefinite  as  to  be  readily  adopted  as 
his  own  by  any  religionist  whatever;  but  we  fixed  upon 
one  of  its  words — the  word  service,  which,  when  defined 
out  of  the  Bible,  took  away  much  of  its  indefiniteness, 
and  left  it  thus.  The  design  of  religion  is  to  lead  men  to 
such  a  service  of  God  as  is  "  in  spirit"  and  "  in  truth." 

Now  we  are  ready  to  take  out  and  change  another 
indefinite  word — the  word  to  lead. 

Only  in  regard  to  externals  can  this  give  any  trouble. 
Religion  is  a  system  of  faith  and  duty.  Religion,  as  a 
system  of  faith,  can  lead  to  the  service  of  God  only  in 
one  way,  i.  e.,  by  teaching,  and  if  a  system  of  faith  (or 
truth)  were  the  only  thing  in  question,  the  word  teach 
might  at  once  go  down  upon  our  page  instead  of  lead. 
But  rehgion  is  also  a  system  of  duty,  and  of  duty  part  of 
which  is  external ;  and  on  this  word  to  lead,  when  ex- 
ternals are  in  question,  the  widest  differences  of  opinion 
turn. 

Certain  externals  lead  men  to  the  service  of  God,  a 


THE  DESIGN  OF  EXTEP.XALS  IN  RELIGION.  73 

school  of  professed  Christians  assert,  by  a  supernatural 
power  lodged  in  thenn,  a  power  which  enlightens  the 
mind,  and  nourishes  up  the  heart  to  holiness,  and  so  leads 
men  to  serve  God.  That  service  they  may  admit  must 
be  "  in  spirit,"  /.  e.,  terminating  in  the  mind,  and  not  the 
body;  and  "in  truth,"  that  is,  toward  no  mistaken  ob- 
ject ;  but  men  are  led  to  it,  they  say,  by  the  mystic 
pow^er  of  external  sacraments.  \f,  therefore,  the  extent 
to  which  we  have  defined  already  will  help  us  to  define 
further,  and  to  fix  narrowly  the  meaning  of  that  word 
"  lead,-''  it  will  draw  a  line  where  we  most  need  one,  and 
remove  the  last  indefiniteness  from  the  test  we  are  pre- 
paring. , 

Precisely  this  may  be  done.  There  is  a  certain  form 
of  influence  of  external  things  upon  man's  service  of 
God,  more  definite  than  is  expressed  by  the  word  " /o 
Ze<2<i,"  which  all  agree  exists,  and  which  many  believe 
is  the  only  form  of  religious  influence  that  any  external 
can  exert.  To  exhibit  this  in  detail  shall  be  the  work 
of  the  present  chapter;  and  then  to  sh  )W  that  other 
alleged  forms  are  imaginary  and  false,  shall  be  under- 
taken in  the  sequel. 

In  looking  for  a  w^ord  to  express  this  single  form  of 
influence,  none  more  apt  occurs  than  the  word  teach. 
The  design  of  externals  in  religion  is  to  teach^  men  in 

^  Paradoxical  as  it  may  seem,  it  is  true  in  a  striking  sense  that,  the 
body  is  the  teacher  of  the  soul.  How  true  it  is,  the  mind  will  be  thrown 
into  tlie  best  attitude  for  discerning,  by  the  question,  What  v/ould  the 
soul  lose  if  created  without  a  body  ?  Take  nothing  from  it  in  faculty 
or  nature  that  now  belongs  to  it;  make  it  just  what  it  is,  a  human  soul, 
entering  existence  as  it  always  does  in  perfect  emptiness  of  thought,  only 
imagine  it  born  unclothed — a  mere  spirit — what  would  it  lose  by  being 
without  a  body  ?  An  infinite  spirit  loses  nothing,  because  fleshly  organs 
could  not  add  to  its  direct  and  perfect  intercourse  with  matter  and  mind. 

7 


74  THE  DESIGN  OF  EXTERNALS  IN  RELIGION. 

tlie  service  of  God.  The  word,  however,  will  not  an- 
swer; it  must  be  very  carefully  said,  unless  we  include 

An  angelic  spirit,  nothing- ;  because,  created  totally  different  from  ours,  its 
organs  of  sense,  in  itself  placed,  like  its  Maker,  in  immediate  communica- 
tion with  other  beings,  and  independent  (at  least  so  is  the  popular  belief) 
of  all  outward  senses.  A  disembodied  human  spirit,  that  is,  one  that  has 
passed  a  probation  in  the  body,  and  put  it  off,  might  lose  little — nay 
might  live  and  act  and  feel  with  greater  intensity  than  before,  because 
the  senses,  in  its  past  state,  have  already  fed  it  with  knowledge,  and 
memory  now  fills  the  office  of  present  sense ;  or  because,  perhaps,  God 
changes  it  at  death,  and  endows  it  with  some  of  the  attributes  of  angelic 
natures,  for  that  state  between  death  and  resurrection.  But  the  infant 
spirit,  as  it  is,  what  would  it  lose,  if  born  without  the  body  ? 

A  follower  of  Locke  would  answer, — every  thing.  The  mind,  born 
barren  of  all  ideas,  he  would  say,  receives  them  first  and  so  is  started  in 
thought  by  the  senses.  Reflection  afterwards  digests  this  food,  and 
greatly  multiplies  the  store  of  knowledge,  thus  begun ;  but  the  senses,  at 
birth,  and  always,  arc  the  doors  by  which  simple  ideas  first  win  their 
entrance. 

An  inference  from  this  would  seem  to  him  to  be,  that  the  soul,  if 
ushered  into  her  theatre  of  knowledge  without  such  material  avenues  of 
connexion  with  it,  would  lie,  as  to  all  mental  action,  dead,  unthinking, 
and  unfeeling.  At  least  no  one  can  show  how  the  mind  could  reach  any 
idea  or  emotion,  if  not  linked  by  fleshly  organs  v^ith  other  beings.  Con- 
sciousness alone,  so  far  as  he  could  see,  could  furnish  nothing,  for  where 
would  be  an  object  to  call  forth  that  antecedent  act  or  feeling  that  could 
become  matter  of  consciousness  ?  Therefore,  the  "  breath  of  life"  or  that 
human  spirit  of  which  God  is  the  Father,  must  be  breathed  into  the 
nostrils  of  a  body,  before  it  can  become  a  living  or,  at  least,  active  soul. 

What  discoveries,  he  would  argue  on,  does  the  soul  make  now,  beyond 
itself?  Plainly  none,  in  which  sense  is  not  its  minister — none,  not  trace- 
able, as  the  fruit  of  reflection,  to  former  discoveries,  which  the  eye  or  the 
ear  or  some  other  organ  has  made.  Yet  there  is  no  reason  why  the  soul 
now  might  not  make  such  independent  discoveries,  as  well  as  if  born  a 
naked  spirit.  The  body  is  no  veil  over  it,  It  is  as  near  God  and  his 
works,  and  could  hold  as  direct  intercourse  with  them  in  its  fleshly  co- 
vering, as  if  never  in  the  flesh.  So  that  the  fact  that  the  soul  does  not 
make  such  direct  discoveries  now,  measures  our  loss  if  born  without  a 
body. 

Thus  a  disciple  of  Locke  might  reason.     This  imagined  language  is 


THE  DESIGN  OF  EXTERNALS  IN  RELIGION.  iO 

in  it,  as  notice  is  here  given  that  we  constantly  shall, 
the  idea  of  discipline  as  well  as  of  instruction.  Such 
compass  for  the  word  is,  perhaps,  not  without  sanction,^ 
but  whether  so,  or  not,  will  not  affect  the  truth  of  what 
is  said,  if  the  reader  is  clearly  advertised  how  we  use  it. 
Externals  in  religion  are  designed  as  natural  and  intelli- 
gible means  of  teaching  {i.  e.,  of  instructing  and  disci- 
pHning)  men  in  the  service  of  God,  in  distinction  from 
supernatural  and  mystic  means  of  baptizing  or  nourish- 
ing them  into  that  service. 

Now,  there  are,  it  is  believed,  but  four  ways  in  which 
this  influence  in  teaching  is  carried  on  ;  even  when  we 
include  the  influence  not  only  of  church  externals,  tech- 
njxially  so  called,  but  (that  our  view  may  be  complete) 
of  all  external  things  as  bearing  on  religion  : 

I.  They  teach  (instruct),  by  revealing  God  and  our- 
selves. 

II.  They  teach  (discipline),  by  pain  and  pleasure. 

III.  They  teach  (instruct),  by  intercourse  with  other 
beings. 

IV.  They  teach  (discipline),  by  exercise  in  moral 
action. 

introduced,  not  to  make  common  cause  with  a  system  of  human  philo- 
sophy, nor  at  all,  by  linking  them  in  one,  to  endanger  what  is  intended  to 
be  quite  another  argument.  We  introduce  it,  not  to  hold  fast  or  trust 
any  thing  to  its  extreme  position,  The  soul  learns  every  thing  (mediately 
or  immediately)  through  the  body ;  but,  simply,  by  the  depth  to  which 
this  philosophy  goes,  to  deepen  the  reader's  view  of  a  much  more  easily 
acknowledged  truth.  The  soul  learns  through  the  body  ;  or  changed  into 
a  sentence  of  corresponding  drift,  The  body  is  the  teacher  of  the  soul. 
We  turn  to  it,  not  to  borrow  evidence,  but  thought,  that  may  open  and 
enlarge  our  conception  of  the  religious  design  of  externals,  as  proposed 
above. 

*  Judges  viii.  16. 


76  THE  DESIGN  OF  EXTERNALS  IN  RELIGION. 

I.  Externals  teach  by  revealing  God  and  ourselves. 
These  two  objects  of  knowledge  are  singled  out  because 
all  others,  intrinsically,  matter  nothing  in  religion.  Re- 
ligion (the  service  of  God)  is  a  thing  between  God  and 
ourselves. 

Now,  putting  the  two  by  for  a  moment,  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  external  things  tell  us  all  we  know  of  the  rest  of 
the  universe.  They  are  the  universe,  so  far  as  it  is  ma- 
terial ;  and  they  are  the  only  ordinar}^  media  of  commu- 
nication with  the  universe,  so  far  as  it  is  spiritual.  For 
that  one  external,  each  man's  own  body,  with  its  senses, 
is  his  sole  means  of  knowing  that  there  is  such  a  thing 
as  a  surrounding  world.  He  would  be  alone  with  God, 
did  not  external  sense  link  him  with  his  fellow-existences. 

Though  this  solitude  need  not,  in  itself  considered,  de- 
stroy religion,  yet,  indirectly,  it  must  deeply  affect  it,  and 
that,  by  keeping  us  much  in  ignorance  of  those  two  ob- 
jects of  knowledge  which  we  put  aside  from  the  rest, 
and  which  might  be  imagined  not  to  need  externals  to 
reveal  them  to  us.     I  mean  God  and  ourselves. 

Worldly  philosophy  goes  so  far  as  to  say  that,  apart 
from  some  supernatural  path  not  now  open,'and,  there- 
fore, not  here  to  be  considered,  no  manner  of  simple  idea 
of  any  thing  whatever,  could  first  enter  a  mind  without 
being  introduced  by  external  sense — ^that  God  would  re- 
main unknown,  and  a  man's  own  spirit  would  lie  mo- 
tionless and  unconscious  of  itself,  till  it  were  started  in 
thought  by  outw-ard  sensation.  Now,  though  we  should 
cast  out  the  theory,  still  there  is  Bible  truth  enough  in  its 
foundation,  to  make  this  much  certain — that  what  could 
be  known  of  God  (granting  that  any  thing  could),  or  that 
might  be  seen  in  one's  own  dark,  empty  spirit  (if  any 


THE  DESIGN  OF  EXTERNALS  IN  RELIGION.  77 

thing  might),  would  be  wonderfully  narrowed  down  by 
the  lack  of  these  outward  sources  of  knowledge. 

As  we  can  know  matter  solely  by  its  properties,  so  we 
can  know  mind,  whether  our  own  or  another's,  solely  by 
its  acts  and  feelings.  Now,  how  many  of  the  acts  and 
feelings  of  the  Infinite  Mind  could  we  know  without  an 
external  world  ?  Where  else  has  He  acted  and  felt  visi- 
bly or  sensibly  so  that  man  could  know  it,  than  towards 
His  works  1  "For  the  invisible  things  of  Him  from  the 
creation  of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood 
by  the  things  that  are  made,  even  His  eternal  power  and 
Godhead."^  "  The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God, 
and  the  firmament  showeth  His  handiwork."^  The  part 
that  revelation  takes  in  teaching  us  does  not  rob  outward 
things  of  this  importance,  but  confirms  it ;  for  revelation 
itself  has  become  an  outward  thinoj — a  matter  of  sisjns 
and  words  addressing  itself  to  external  sense ;  so  that 
whether  God  write  upon  the  face  of  nature  or  upon  the 
sacred  page,  the  eye  must  read  in  either  case. 

Go  over  the  attributes  of  God  (certainly  the  basis  of 
all  piety) ;  His  immensity  and  eternity,  moving  our  ado- 
ration ;  His  justice  and  holiness,  exciting  our  awe  ;  His 
love  and  mercy,  warming  our  gratitude,  and  judge  how 
far  your  picture  of  each  is  drawn  by  what  you  see  and 
hear  and  feel  of  the  perfections  of  God  by  the  senses. 
Reflection  does  indeed  order  and  enrich  the  picture,  but 
sense  must  take  the  lead,  and  originate  the  form.s  and 
colours;  for  the  sinjple  question,  what  has  it  taught  me? 
may  lead  the  plainest  mind  to  see  how  much  it  must 
have  to  do  with  all  that  can  be  known  by  man  of  the 
glory  of  God. 

»  Rom.  i.  20.  b  Ps.  xix.  1. 

7* 


78  THE  DESIGN  OF  EXTERNALS  IN  RELIGION. 

Then,  on  the  other  hand,  how  many  of  the  acts  and 
feehngs  of  our  own  nnind  could  we  know  without  an  ex- 
ternal w^orld  ?  or  rather,  how  often  would  it  act  or  feel? 
That  outward  body  of  which  we  have  the  use,  and  those 
outward  objects  on  which  we  use  it,  are  the  grand  means 
of  showing  us  to  ourselves,  because  they  are  the  grand 
things  with  which  we  act,  and  for  which  we  feel.  Dis- 
embodied and  alone  with  our  Maker,  grant  that  mental 
exercise  could  originate  at  all,  how  much  more  dull  and 
narrowly  than  when  in  contact,  at  a  thousand  points, 
with  other  existences. 

It  is  of  main  importance  to  know  ourselves  morally. 
But  without  external  sense  that  half  of  morality  which 
regards  love  to  other  men  would  lie  dormant  in  our  na- 
ture, for  it  is  only  by  sense  that  we  are  niade  av/are  of 
the  being  of  other  men  ;  while  the  other  half  of  morality 
not  being  able  to  define  itself  by  outward  act,  imagining 
it  to  be  felt  at  all,  could  only  be  felt  in  the  vaguest  and 
most  narrow  way. 

Externals,  therefore,  teach  by  revealing  God  and  our- 
selves. 

II.  They  teach  by  pain  and  pleasure. 

Of  pain  and  pleasure  there  are  two  varieties;  of  the 
body  and  of  the  mind  ;  or,  rather,  as  the  mind  is  the  seat 
of  the  emotion,  in  either  case,  those  which  do  and  those 
which  do  not  spring  from  the  body. 

Now,  interrupted  by  the  disorders  of  our  present  state, 
yet  sufficiently  regular  to  work  many  salutary  ends  of 
government,  is  the  law  that  pain  shall  follow  sin,  and 
pleasure,  right  doing.  They  are  the  marks  soonest  seen 
and  most  respected  of  moral  good  and  evil,  and  they 
bring  all  men  under  some  degree  of  discipline  in  the 
school  of  virtue. 


THE  DESIGxV  OF  EXTERNALS  IN  RELIGION.  79 

Which  of  the  above  varieties  is  strongest  for  this  end, 
might  be  matter  of  doubt ;  but  that  the  discipHne  of  the 
last  would  be  sadly  crippled  without  the  first,  it  is  believed 
no  one  will  question.     There  is  something  in  bodily  pain 
that  gives  vividness  to  fear  and  definiteness  to  punish- 
ment; and  how  truly  soever  men  may  say  that  simple 
pain  of  mind  is  worse,  certain  it  is  that  it  does  not  ter- 
rify so  much  nor  discipline  so  well.     Besides  that,  simple 
pain  of  mind  would  be  less  if  there  were  no  such  thing 
as  bodily  pain.     The  idea  of  this  mingles  with  the  other, 
and  gives  distinctness  to  the  punishment.     Remorse,  for 
example,  must  be  much  more  intense  where  associated 
with  the  memory,  or  the  sense,  or  the  fear  of  outward 
tokens  of  displeasure,  and  despair  much  more  fearful 
where  the  desolateness  of  the  mind  is  or  has  been  con- 
nected with  the  more  tangible  sufferings  of  the  body. 
III.  Externals  teach  by  intercourse  with  other  beings. 
However  souls  hereafter  in  their  disembodied  state 
may  by  some  new  faculty  know  each  other  and  hold 
mutual  communion,  it  is  certain  that  they  are  strangers 
to  one  another  as  to  any  such  direct  communion  now. 
We  trust  wholly  to  the  body  to  tell  us  of  the  presence  of 
our  fellow  men,  and  to  learn  their  thoughts  ;  and  this 
not  because  the  body  like  a  curtain  hides  our  spirits  from 
each  other,   but  because    we   are    conscious    that   our 
spirits  altogether  lack  the  power  of  independent  inter- 
course. 

Then,  judge  how  important,  in  this  new  aspect,  the 
office  of  external  sense.  Other  men,  as  ministers  of 
God  for  our  good,  give  us  vastly  the  larger  part  of  all 
the  knowledge  and  discipline  that  we  enjoy.  Take  the 
word  examj)le  in  its  widest  sense,  as  left  in  the  history 
of  the  past,  or  as  witnessed  in  the  actions  of  the  living, 


80  THE  DESIGN  OF  EXTERNALS  IN  RELIGION. 

and  imagine  yourself  divested  of  all  the  influence  ithas  had 
in  moulding  your  character;  and  then  the  word,  language, 
in  a  like  widest  meaning,  writing,  speech,  signs,  all  con- 
ventional media  of  intercourse,  and  put  away  every  thing 
ever  learned  by  these,  and  you  may  measure  how  much 
you  owe  to  the  body  in  this  office  of  interpreter.  It  is 
true,  God  by  direct  inspiration  might  more  than  meet  the 
deficiency  so  created,  but  we  are  asking  for  what  he 
does,  not  for  what  he  could  do  ;  to  what  specific  func- 
tion of  a  spiritual  kind  he  actually  has  appointed  our 
animal  senses.  His  whole  revelation  comes  to  us  by 
them  ;  all  his  ordinances,  each  method  of  grace,  not 
wholly  private  and  purely  mental, — every  ministry  of 
whatever  kind,  in  w^ord  or  act  or  symbol,  set  up  as  "  the 
power  of  God  unto  our  salvation,"  use  our  fleshly  or- 
gans as  their  media  to  the  heart.  The  common  remark, 
that  God,  in  condescension  to  our  weakness  in  this 
carnal  state,  addresses  truth  often  to  the  senses,  falls 
short  of  the  fact.  He  addresses  it  always  to  the  senses, 
and  must  change  the  nature  of  our  hearts,  or  begin  to 
deal  with  them  by  direct  inspiration,  to  reach  them  in 
any  other  way.  The  meaning  of  the  remark  is,  that  he 
often  uses  outward  emblems  or  significant  riles  to  con- 
vey his  will ;  but  these  are  nothing  more  than  a  sym- 
bolic or  scenic  form  of  language,  instead  of  language 
written  or  spoken ;  and  both  alike  reach  the  soul  through 
the  avenues  of  sense.  In  such  case  the  rite  bears  much 
the  same  relation  to  the  word  that  the  hieroglyphic  pic- 
ture of  the  Egyptians  bore  to  their  alphabetic  writing, 
both  seeking  the  mind  through  the  eye,  but  the  truth  in 
the  one  seen  at  a  glance  under  a  figure,  that  in  the  other 
deciphered  from  a  scries  of  conventional  signs. 

A  sacrifice,  for  example,  to  the  eye  of  an  Israelite 


THE  DESIGN  OF  EXTERNALS  IN  RELIGION.  81 

was  nothing  more  than  a  dense,  brief,  yet  rude  form  of 
language — a  prophecy  ;  itself  and  the  written  prophecies 
uniting  at  once  to  interpret  and  impress  each  other ; 
both  foretelling  what  we,  by  clearer  words  and  by  other 
rites,  more  fully  understand  as  Christ's  personal  atone- 
ment. 

Externals,  therefore,  are  the  social  link  that  connects 
one  spirit  with  another. 

IV.  They  teach  by  exercise  in  moral  action. 

Who  has  not  observed  how  the  uttering  of  thought  by 
the  lips  or  by  the  pen  clears  it  in  the  mind  1  Up  to  the 
very  moment  when  the  ideas  of  a  thinker  come  from 
him  in  audible  words,  or  on  the  paper  before  him,  they 
are  very  generally  misshapen,  or  but  half-conceived. 
In  the  stimulus  that  either  method  of  composing  gives 
by  its  call  at  the  moment  to  precise  conception,  and 
still  more,  perhaps,  in  the  reimpression  upon  the  mind 
itself  of  its  own  last  step  in  thought,  by  the  sound  or  the 
sight  of  the  language  that  it  has  just  been  framing,  may 
be  mainly  traced  the  secret  of  the  improvement — that 
marked  superiority  to  w^hich  many  men  have  learned  to 
trust, — of  what  they  say  over  what  they  premeditated 
to  say. 

Now,  what  the  tongue  does  for  thought,  the  whole 
body  does  for  moral  feelings;  it  utters  or  acts  them  out; 
and  in  the  very  act  elevates  their  tone,  and  reimpresses 
them  upon  the  soul.  If  conscience  could  only  feel  and 
not  do,  one  chief  means  of  cherishing  strong  and  definite 
principles  would  be  gone.  Its  ideas  of  duty — grant 
that  they  could  be  as  numerous,  and,  by  internal  reflec- 
tion simply,  could  be  exercised  as  frequently  as  now — 
still  could  not  be  as  high  and  vivid. 

And,  in  proof  of  this,  we  need  but  mention  the  actual 


82  THE  DESIGN  OF  EXTERNALS  IN  RELIGION. 

advantages  in  moral  culture  that  the  body  can  be  seen 
to  secure.     An  external  act,  is  a  scenic  display — a  sign 

a  symbol  of  the  virtue  that  prompts  it — a  symbol,  too, 

each  element  of  which  speaks  back  eloquently  and  with 
invariable  effect  to  the  heart.  Do  an  act  of  charity  for 
example — let  your  benevolence  utter  itself  in  making 
over  a  part  of  your  fortune  to  a  distressed  neighbour. 
The  whole  scene  together  speaks  to  you,  and  stirs  you 
up ;  the  tears  of  the  sufferer  suing  for  mercy — the  in- 
convenience of  the  gift  fortifying  your  generous  principle 
— the  pleasures  of  giving  enlisting  still  further  every 
thing  kind  and  noble  in  your  nature— the  whole  stimu- 
lating you,  before  the  act  is  over,  to  a  far  higher  level  of 
moral  feeling,  than  any  silent  contemplation  of  the 
abstract  grace,  benevolence.  Mental  acts  themselves 
must  by  like  cause  differ  in  elevation.  Where  they  are 
purely  mental  acts  of  thought  and  will,  not  using  the 
body,  they  must  be,  other  things  being  equal,  less  clearly 
seen,  less  definitely  done,  and  less  thorough  in  enlisting 
the  feelings. 

A  further  evidence  of  an  incidental  kind  occurs  to 
me  in  the  promises  made  to  external  actions.  Why  are 
they  specially  rewarded ; — "  the  deeds  done  in  the 
body  ?'  Not  of  course  for  any  merit  in  the  physical 
motion  itself,  but  because  that  motion  marks,  and  hasj 
so  to  speak,  drawn  out  a  strong  exercise  of  love  and 
will  and  virtuous  principle.  The  exigency  of  an  ex- 
ternal kind  has  awakened  the  heart,  and  shown  it  the 
way  to  a  high  moral  emotion,  and  then  that  emotion  is 
the  thing  rewarded. 

This  would  be  giving  the  body  a  most  important 
office,  even  if  the  present  glory  of  God  and  the  good 
forthcoming  from  each  single  act  in  reward  to  ourselves 


THE  DESIGN  OF  EXTERNALS  IN  RELIGION.  83 

and  charity  to  others  were  the  only  good.  But  when 
we  remember  that  the  heart,  after  one  of  these  sudden 
weaves  of  virtuous  feehng  that  a  hard  effort  or  a  gene- 
rous gift  for  the  relief  of  others  has  stirred  up,  does  not 
sink  again  as  low  as  its  state  before,  but  settles  at  a 
hif]rher  level,  and  so  rises  wave  after  wave  accordino; 
to  the  frequency  and  height  of  its  moral  emotions, 
being  thus  exercised  to  what  men  call  a  higher  habit  of 
virtue,  we  must  do  honour  to  the  body  as  wielding  a 
still  nobler  influence  in  the  rapid  and  permanent  forma- 
tion of  character. 

Just  as  the  words  of  an  orator  speak  back  to  his  mind, 
and  impress  it,  and  store  themselves  in  it,  far  more 
thoroughly  than  his  thoughts  before  ;  so  the  acted  virtues 
of  men  reimprint  themselves  upon  their  consciences  far 
more  deeply  than  w^hen  latent  or  abstractly  reflected 
over,  with  no  summons  to  exertion  from  the  outward 
senses.  To  sentence  a  heart  with  a  human  constitution 
to  pass  a  season  of  virtuous  discipline,  and  yet  forbid  it 
ever  to  use  the  body  to  give  shape  and  order  to  its  habits, 
would  be  worse  than  sentencing  a  mind  to  trace  out 
within  itself  a  long  and  intricate  system  of  truth,  with 
no  use  of  the  voice  or  the  pen.  In  all  this  it  will  be  ob- 
served, however,  that  we  rest  satisfied  in  claiming  for 
the  body  only  what  is  needed  to  show  its  definite  office 
in  religion.  Pushed  to  the  extent  of  metaphysical  truth, 
it  might  (for  before-mentioned  reasons)  well  become  a 
question,  whether  a  human  heart,  left  from  the  first  with- 
out a  body,  could  have  any  exercised  or  felt  morality 
at  all. 

If  there  is  added  now  a  third  good  result  of  bodily 
acts — special  rewards — the  view  of  their  benefit  will  be 
complete.     The  soul  is  instigated  in  them  to  a  high  and 


84  THE  DESIGN  OF  EXTERNALS  IN  RELIGION. 

definite  exercise  of  its  moral  feelings,  and  then,  apart 
from  the  recompense  it  has  in  its  own  virtuous  disci- 
pline, it  makes  sure,  in  exact  proportion  to  that  exercise, 
a  promised  recompense  from  God.  The  external  act 
has  awakened  and  drawn  out  the  heart  to  a  certain  kind 
and  strength  of  will  and  feeling, — then,  according  to 
that  strength  and  kind,  will  be  the  reckoning  of  its 
reward. 

Now,  the  ground  that  this  treatise  will  endeavour  to 
defend,  is,  that  in  the  three  benefits  thus  carefully  de- 
scribed, the  whole  personal  advantage  of  external  duties 
is  exhausted.  No  matter  what  they  are — acts  for  man, 
or  for  self,  or  for  God — worship,  or  charity,  or  self-sup- 
port— ordinance,  or  rite,  or  sacrament — no  matter — 
advantage  of  a  moral  or  religious  kind  to  the  actor  in 
them,  exhausts  itself  in  these  three  particulars. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  ordinance  of  external  prayer. 
The  kneeling  posture — the  earnest  gesture — the  audible 
requests,  are  an  exhibition  before  the  senses  of  the  man 
of  the  whole  spirit  of  prayer.  They  rouse  him  to  the 
work  with  clearness  of  desire  and  intensity  of  feeling. 
Thought,  simply,  could  not  pray  so.  In  his  own  words 
he  hears  his  wants,  and  learns  and  feels  them  better. 
Like  a  speaker,  aided  by  the  very  act  of  oratory  in 
pouring  out  his  thoughts  and  feelings  to  the  people,  so 
this  man  can  make  known  far  better  by  words  and  orally 
his  requests  to  God.  This  is  the  first  benefit, — a  height- 
ened exercise  of  devotion. 

The  second  is  an  improved  habit  of  devotion. 

The  third  is  that  special  promise  which  God  makes 
to  prayer,  viz.,  an  answer ;  a  promise,  not  to  the  voice, 
or  the  attitude,  or  externally  to  the  act,  but  to  that  kind 


THE  DESIGN  OF  EXTERNALS  IN  RELIGION.  85 

and  degree  of  devotion,  to  which  all  these,  simply,  and 
by  known  means,  have  ministered. 

Now  let  us  go  deeper,  and  take  a  sacrament;  pre- 
cisely kindred  benefits  occur.  The  Lord's  Supper,  for 
example,  is  a  scenic  display,  in  the  midst  of  which,  and 
by  whose  aid,  the  actor  is  to  go  forward  to  certain  lead- 
ing duties  of  our  religion.  As,  in  the  exercise  of  bene- 
volence, w^e  have  a  natural  ceremonial*  to  assist  the 
duty, — the  sufterer, — as  an  external  object,  to  call  it  out, 
and  the  gift,  or  charitable  effort,  as  an  external  act,  to 
stir  it  up ;  so,  in  hke  relation,  the  Lord's  Supper  is  an 
artificial  ceremonial,  that,  through  symbols,  in  default  of 
any  thing  more  direct,  faith  and  fellowship,  our  cove- 
nanting and  vows  may  have  the  stimulus  of  bodily  acts 
and  external  exhibitions.^  We  have  faith  to  exercise. 
Therefore,  as  the  grand  object  of  faith,  Christ,  our  sacri- 
fice, is  invisible,  we  have  a  memorial  of  him,  an  em- 
blematic object,  in  the  wine  and  the  bread  of  the  supper. 
And  as  the  exercise  of  faith  is  abstract,  we  have  an 
external  act,  the  receiving  of  the  bread  and  wine,  to 
suggest  it,  and  draw  it  out.  So,  too,  we  have  commu- 
nion with  God  to  maintain.  Therefore,  His  altogether 
unseen  communications  are  freshened  upon  our  memo- 
ries and  definitely  offered  in  the  emblematic  food  upon 
his  table,  while  our  participation  in  them  is  more  easily 

*  We  would  not  say,  even  figuratively,  this  is  the  sacrament  of  bene- 
volence,  because  we  should  be  confounding-  a  distinction  which  exists 
between  baptism  and  the  eucharist,  and  all  other  forms  of  duty ;  but  we 
do  say,  that  sense  has  a  like  office  in  either  performance. 

^  Let  the  reader  bear  in  mind,  I  am  not  begging  the  question  by 
assuming  that  there  is  no  other  design  in  the  eucharist.  I  simply  give 
an  intelligible  and  natural  office,  that  it,  certainly,  does  fulfil,  and  shall 
show  that  it  fulfils  no  other,  afterwards. 

8 


86  THE  DESIGN  OF  EXTERNALS  IN  RETJGION. 

and  eagerly  realized  through  the  emblematic  act  of  out- 
ward feasting.  Again,  communion  with  the  church  is 
to  be  assisted.  How,  better,  than  by  sitting  at  the  same 
table,  and,  through  appointed  symbols,  eating  of  the  same 
spiritual  meat  and  drinking  of  the  same  spiritual  drink? 
A  seal  is  to  be  set ;  a  vow  is  to  be  given.  Therefore,  as 
the  act,  itself,  is,  exclusively,  mental,  and  hence,  too, 
likely  to  be  vague,  and,  too  certainly,  difficult,  a  token 
is  offered  by  either  party;  God  gives  the  holy  supper, 
under  the  hands  of  his  minister,  and  man,  in  the  time 
marked,  and  under  the  impression  made  by  the  solemn 
act  of  eating,  may  accept  the  token  of  God,  and  so,  defi- 
nitely affix  his  own. 

Now,  in  some  minds,  and  for  a  change,  in  all  minds, 
the  whole  ceremony  enforces  and  assists  the  chief  duties 
of  the  gospel  far  better  than  any  abstract  thought.  If 
entered  upon  worthily,  and  without  superstition,  as  the 
humble  instrument,  not  the  supplanter  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
it  stirs  up  the  soul,  at  the  time,  to  higher  exercises  of 
Christian  grace.     This  is  the  first  benefit  of  the  three. 

The  second  is  a  permanently  improved  habit  of  Chris- 
tian exercise,  after  each  well-celebrated  sacrament. 

The  third  must  be  given  with  care. 

It  was  said  that  the  third  benefit  of  prayer  was  its 
special  reward,  viz.,  an  answer.  No  other  than  a  kin- 
dred benefit  (in  addition  to  the  two  already  noticed) 
follows  the  sacrament — its  special  reward,  viz.,  a  reci- 
procation, on  the  part  of  God,  corresponding  to  each  act 
of  his  guests  at  the  table ;  a  reciprocation,  let  it  be  pre- 
mised, however,  not  to  the  external  act,  itself,  but,  as  in 
prayer,  to  that  exercise  of  grace  which  the  external  act 
has  stirred  up.  If  we  feed  upon  Christ,  by  faith,  as  we 
feed  upon  the  bread,  he  will  nourish  us.     If  we  take 


THE  DESIGN  OF  EXTERNALS  IN  RELIGION.  87 

his  gifts,  in  communion,  as  we  take  the  bread,  he  will 
communicate  them  to  us.  If  we  give  our  blessing,  in 
communion,  to  our  brethren,  theirs,  or  a  better,  shall 
return  to  us.  If  we  set  our  seal  (with  new  devotedness) 
to  the  covenant,  God  will  set  his  (with  new  blessings) 
there. 

Of  no  other  form  of  real  presence,  but  this,  does  the 
Bible  ever  dream.  There  is  grace  in  the  sacrament,  in 
a  guarded  sense;  and  it  is  around  this  nucleus  of  truth 
that  a  legion  of  errors  has  grown ;  there  may  be  in- 
stantaneous growth  in  grace,  at  the  moment  of  eating ; 
but  it  is  grace /b?'  grace — grace  promised  to  the  height- 
ened exercise  of  grace,  which  the  outward  symbol  has 
enhsted.  Just  as,  without  grace,  a  man  may  "  eat  and 
drink  judgment"  in  the  very  act ;  so,  in  proportion  to 
his  grace,  pardon,  strength,  or  peace,  in  the  very  act. 

We  are  free  to  say,  too,  "  There  is  special  grace  in 
the  sacrament."  We  are  not  willing  that  error  should 
lay  exclusive  claim,  even  to  this  mode  of  speech,  or  reap 
from  it  exclusive  credit.  Just  as  the  fruits  of  prayer  are 
richer,  because  the  duty  is  by  special  appointment,  and 
the  reward  by  special  promise,  so,  the  benefits  of  the 
eucharist  are  richer,  because  of  its  special  institution  by 
the  Saviour.  If  the  church,  granting  she  have  the  right, 
were  to  invent  another  sacrament,  for  like  uses,  to  those 
that  we  have  mentioned,  from  the  lack  of  special  pro- 
mise, it  would  be  inferior  in  benefit  to  its  fellows.  God's 
rite  w^ould  be  the  more  richly  blessed.  But  this,  let  it 
be  carefully  guarded  (and  here  is  the  secret  of  the  diffe- 
rence), not  because  there  is  an  increase  of  reward  in  it, 
over  and  above  an  increase  of  attending  faith,  but  be- 
cause the  known  fact  of  appointment  prompts  and  en- 
courages a  higher  exercise  of  faith.     The  uncommanded 


88  THE  DESIGN  OF  EXTERNALS  IN  RELIGION. 

ceremony  is  undertaken  for  one  object  only — exercise 
in  piety  ;  the  commanded  ceremony  for  another,  also, — 
obedience.  The  one  has  only  an  imagined  seal;  and  is, 
therefore,  rather  the  symbol  of  a  symbol — the  emblem 
of  a  sacrament.  The  other  has  a  seal  set  and  consented 
to  by  God  himself;  hence  its  better  influence  and  re- 
ward. 

.  One  clear,  sufficient  office  in  religion,  the  body  has 
thus  marked  out  for  itself  We  shall,  therefore,  stand 
on  a  vantage-ground,  when,  in  the  sequel,  we  try  its 
claim  to  certain  other  offices.  For  though,  of  course, 
the  idea  of  totally  another  is  not,  in  the  statement  itself, 
absurd,  nor,  in  this  chapter,  directly  refuted,  yet,  so  com- 
pletely does  the  one  already  given  cover  the  whole  field 
of  church  externals,  justify  their  imposition,  plead  for 
their  necessity,  enter  into  the  meaning  of  each  appoint- 
ment ;  so  entirely  does  it  relieve  the  worshipper  in  his 
search  after  some  sufficient  reason  for  the  labour  to 
which  he  submits,  that  the  instructive  presumption  is 
against  the  existence  of  any  other. 

If  you  saw  a  misshapen  piece  of  metal  lying  by  the 
bedside  of  a  sick  man,  from  the  total  want  of  other  ex- 
planation, you  would  listen,  with  much  credulity,  to  one 
who  should  tell  you  that  it  was  designed,  for  the  sake 
of  some  hidden  virtue  in  it,  to  be  applied  as  a  cure. 
But,  if  you  saw  a  spoon  with  a  phial  at  its  side,  know- 
ing, as  you  might,  at  a  glance,  a  use  quite  sufficient  to 
bring  it  there,  your  credulity  would  measure  itself  much 
more  nicely  by  the  amount  of  proof,  if  told  that  there 
was  a  second  use  intended  from  some  virtue  in  the 
spoon.  Or,  to  come  nearer  the  case  in  hand,  suppose 
you  saw  an  orator,  with  clear  words  and  impassioned 
gestures,  exhibiting  the  truth  before  the  people.     Know- 


THE  DESIGN  OF  EXTERNALS  IN  RELIGION.  89 

ing,  as  you  might,  that  the  excitement  visible  in  his 
audience  has  quite  enough  to  explain  it  in  his  fervent 
oratory,  how  would  you  meet  the  assertion  of  a  friend, 
that  the  main  effect  was  produced  by  a  mystic  influence 
from  the  person  of  the  man,  directed  by  his  will  and 
assisted  by  his  gestures?  You  would  have  no  right, 
before  evidence  in  the  case,  to  deny,  but  every  right  to 
doubt.  You  would  believe  only  after  the  very  clearest 
proof;  sifting  the  evidence  through,  with  a  jealousy  that 
no  common  case  could  possibly  enlist. 

Let  such  be  the  attitude  of  the  reader  toward  the 
assertion  of  a  second  and  mystic  office  of  externals* 
which  subsequent  chapters  w^ll  bring  before  him.  Or, 
rather,  let  him  prepare  himself  candidly  to  judge  whether 
the  presumption  may  not  be  realized,  on  still  higher 
grounds,  by  showing  that  no  manner  of  evidence  can 
prove  it,  inasmuch  as  it  indirectly  contradicts  itself,  and 
impugns  the  character  of  God. 

*  Some  other  way  by  which  they  "  lead'''  to  an  intelligent  and  true  ser- 
vice  of  God,  for,  that  far,  we  have  defined  and  limited  already. 


8* 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  DESIGN  OF  AN  EXTERNAL  CHURCH. 

Conspicuous  on  the  list  of  externals,  stands  an  external 
church.  In  narrowing  down  our  view  still  further,  it 
will  be  well  to  single  this  out  from  the  rest,  and  look  at 
it  alone,  since  its  ritual  embraces  every  thing  that  is 
matter  of  dispute ;  and  if  the  design  of  a  whole  be  the 
design  of  all  its  parts,  then  just  as  the  design  of  religion 
must  be  the  design  of  all  externals  in  religion,  so  the 
design  of  all  externals  must  be  the  design  of  an  external 
church. 

Now,  as  we  have  shown  that  teaching,  (instruction 
and  discipline)  in  the  service  of  God,  is  a  design  of  ex- 
ternals in  religion,  and  have  laid  it  by  for  proof,  in  the 
sequel,  that  it  is  the  design,  it  will  be  well  to  question 
experience  and  admitted  fact,  to  show  that  it  is  a  design 
of  an  external  church,  and,  moreover,  that  it  seems 
sufficient  to  be  the  design. 

Imagine  the  world  without  a  church. 

Aside  from  those  mystic  benefits  in  which  some  believe, 
it  is  admitted  that  individual  men  might  do  every  thing, 
in  kind,  that  the  church  can  do.  All  that  is  now  the 
essential  work  of  the  church  might  be  the  duty  of  isolated 
believers.  A  revelation  might  be  received  by  any  man, 
as  by  Adam,  before  there  were  a  plurality  of  believers, 


THE  DESIGN  OF  AN  EXTERNAL  CHURCH.  91 

to  form  a  church.  That  revelation  might  be  studied,  as 
by  the  Ethiopian  eunuch,  or  by  the  wise  men  of  the 
East,  with,  perhaps,  no  notion  of  a  church.  It  might 
be  dispensed  to  others,  as  by  "Noah,  a  preacher  of 
righteousness,"  wdth,  so  far  as  w^e  can  tell,  no  license  by 
a  church.  The  truths  of  that  revelation  might  be  con- 
fessed before  the  world,  as  by  the  first  believer,  with  no 
manner  of  register  in  a  church.  Its  rites  might  be  ad- 
ministered, as  by  Cain  and  Abel,  with  no  known  com- 
mission from  earth,  or  heaven.  The  mischief,  therefore, 
to  the  world,  of  being  without  a  church,  would  be,  not 
so  much  the  lessening  of  the  number  of  the  means  of 
grace,  as  in  lessening  their  efficiency. 

Still,  its  mischief  would  be  tremendous. 

To  judge  of  it,  imagine  its  effects  in  detail.  Revela- 
tion— if  no  custody  of  a  church  body  were  at  hand  to 
which  to  commit  it,  how  wretchedly  would  it  be  wasted. 
Pure  as  it  might  be  at  first,  w^hat  quick  alliances  would 
error  make  with  it,  as  it  passed  from  mouth  to  mouth  ; 
and,  more  than  this,  how  rapidly,  in  such  an  unsheltered 
state,  would  its  evidences  (in  an  external  view,  of  as 
much  moment  as  its  truth)  sink  and  disappear.  The 
study  of  the  truth — how  obviously  would  it  lack  its 
present  facility  and  confidence.  That  grandest,  hardest, 
most  perilous  work  of  man,  the  merchandise  of  truth, 
carried  on  in  all  the  various  ways  of  writing  and  speak- 
ing, ordinance  and  ceremony — how  would  it  be  crippled 
by  the  want  of  what  secular  men  instinctively  enlist  in 
all  heavy  enterprises — that  potent  helper — union.  Pro- 
fession would  be  made  at  random,  and,  therefore,  bring 
out  clearly,  neither  the  self-impression,  nor  the  example, 
now  incident  upon  confessing  the  faith.  Rites,  as  they 
would  become  endlessly  common,  would  be  endlessly 


92         THE  DESIGN  OF  AN  EXTERNAL  CHURCH. 

profaned,  and  so  would  directly  reverse  their  intended 
influence  upon  the  people.  It  nriight  well  be  made  a 
question  whether  piety,  if  it  could  ever  rise  so  high  as  to 
feel  its  own  wants,  would  not  invent  a  church,  in  default 
of  God's  appointment. 

Virtually,  the  experiment  has  been  tried,  of  a  world 
without  a  church.  From  Adam  to  Abraham,  so  many 
of  the  features  of  any  subsequent  ecclesiastical  body 
are  absent  from  what  several  soundly-judging  divines 
still  see  evidence  to  call  a  church,  that,  even  in  their 
opinion,  it  must  approximate  the  case  of  a  total  absence 
of  the  institution.  Without,  therefore,  discussing  the 
question,  whether,  for  the  first  two  thousand  years  after 
the  creation,  there  was  a  church  on  earth  (a  discussion 
scarcely  otherwise  than  nugatory,  inasmuch  as  the  men- 
tion that  must  preface  it  of  things  necessary  to  a  church, 
must,  on  one  side,  or  the  other,  be  a  begging  of  the 
question),  we  may  infer  the  simple  purpose  for  which, 
when  fully  organized,  it  was  meant,  from  the  pecuUar 
evils  resulting  from  what  some  men  call  its  absence, 
and  others,  its  incompleteness.  Certain  it  is,  that  we 
hear  of  no  initiatory  rite,  fencing  off*,  in  ordinary  cases, 
the  church  from  the  world, — of  no  commissioned  officer,* 
giving  up  his  whole  time  and  strength  to  the  interests  of 
religion, — of  no  wide  communion,  or  any  settled  co- 
operation among  large  companies  of  believers.  And 
then,  side  by  side  with  this,  we  have  the  natural 
consequence — the  children  of  God  mixed  up  with  the 
children  of  men,  and,  therefore,  few  and  scattered,  and 
their  families,  like  the  families  of  Lot  and  Laban,  soon 
losing  the  truth  in  idolatry.     The  giving  of  an  exclusive 

*  Unless  some  one  will  stand  out  for  the  fact  of  a  regular  commission 
to  each  father,  as  prophet,  priest,  and  king,  in  his  own  family. 


THE  DESIGN  OF  AN  EXTERNAL  CHURCH.  93 

seal  to  Abraham,  and,  still  more,  the  commissioning  of 
priests  and  the  framing  of  a  ritual  under  Moses,  recom- 
mend themselves  to  reason,  as  means  necessary,  so  far 
as  means  can  be,  for  the  rescue  of  the  truth.  Their 
simple  efficiency  was  seen,  at  once,  in  greatly  multiply- 
ing the  pious;  so  that,  while  religion  under  the  old 
principle  of  isolation  seems  to  have  made  its  experiment 
most  conclusive  by  completely  dying  out  among  the 
gentiles,  Israel  grew  a  peculiar  treasure  unto  God — a 
kingdom  of  priests — a  holy  nation,  so  that,  in  one  of 
their  darkest  times,  when,  organized  as  they  were,  they 
seemed  almost  gone  over  to  the  darkness  of  the  heathen, 
still,  even  in  that  small  province, — nay,  even  without 
Judea,  there  were  "  seven  thousand  men  that  had  not 
bowed  the  knee  to  the  image  of  Baal ;"  more  believers, 
perhaps,  than  the  whole  world  had  furnished,  through 
the  first  two  thousand  years  of  her  history. 

"  The  vineyard  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  was  the  house  of 
Israel,  and  the  men  of  Judah  his  pleasant  plant."  The 
whole  analogy  of  nature  might  suggest  that  the  plants 
of  grace  would  flourish  in  health  and  numbers  beyond 
com.parison  more,  if  brought  together  and  cultivated, 
than  if  left  to  scatter  their  own  seed,  and  take  root 
where  they  may,  amidst  briers  and  thorns.  Corn  that 
will  yield  a  hundred-fold,  when  hedged  in  by  itself  in  a 
cultivated  field,  if  left  in  its  native  woods  to  contend 
with  the  affinities  of  other  plants,  and  to  strike  its  roots 
where  it  can,  amidst  a  ranker  herbage,  will  be  found 
scattered  and  dwindled,  its  fruit  positively  nothing  in 
contrast  with  what  husbandry  would  make  it  yield,  and 
the  grain  scarcely  known  by  the  farmer  as  the  same 
that  his  field  produces. 

What  is  easier,  therefore,  than  by  the  good  the  church 


94  THE  DESIGN  OF  AN  EXTERNAL  CHURCH. 

is  actually  seen  to  do,  to  tell  a  sufficient  design  for  its 
institution. 

Let  us  go  into  still  more  detail.  As  its  benefits  come 
up  in  order,  a  glance  will  show  that  each  resolves  itself 
into  one,  already  proposed  as  the  sole  design  of  what- 
ever is  visible  in  religion — teaching — the  ministration  of 
the  truth,  whether  for  instruction,  or  discipline. 

I.  The  church  stores  up  the  truth.  If  truth  were 
dear  to  men,  perishable  and  easily  corrupted  as  it  is,  its 
revelation  might  be  risked  through  any  private  channel, 
trusting  that  the  mind  that  heard  it  first,  would  be  at 
the  pains  to  give  it  over  exactly  to  others,  and  that  the 
word  would  scrupulously  keep  it,  and  hand  it  down. 
We  know  not  that  in  heaven  any  organized  society  is 
needed  to  preserve  entire  the  new  discoveries  God 
makes  of  himself  to  men. 

But,  so  long  as  the  truth  is  regarded  as  man's  worst 
enemy,  the  whole  world  being  in  league  against  it, 
hating  the  light,  neither  coming  to  the  light,  lest  their 
deeds  should  be  reproved  ;  and  so  long  as  any  man,  as 
it  passes  from  hand  to  hand,  is  at  perfect  liberty  to  hand 
on  to  his  neighbour  a  total  counterfeit  of  what  came  to 
him,  and  so  long  as  this  counterfeit,  if  the  whole  cur- 
rency of  truth  were  in  random  circulation,  would  stand 
on  much  the  same  foot  as  the  original,  it  is  plain  that 
any  revelation  would  be  wasted,  if  sent  individually  to 
private  men.  The  spirit  that  now  fills  the  world  with 
spurious  rehgions  could  then  reach  its  end  by  a  shorter 
path,  in  framing  its  imposture  out  of  the  ruins  of  the 
true.  A  gospel  could  scarcely  last  beyond  its  own 
generation,  for  the  world  would  lose  its  hold  of  ii  by  its 
concealment,  or  disappearance  under  a  mass  of  errors. 

We  take  this  to  be  the  reason  why  God  talked  so 


THE  DESIGN  OF  AN  EXTERNAL  CHURCH.  95 

often  with  men  in  the  infant  period  of  the  world.  He 
kindly  kept  up  reh'gion  by  fresh  truth  from  himself;  and 
we  take  the  varied  idolatries  of  the  earth,  traced  back, 
indefinitely,  by  ancient  and  distant  heathen,  to  be  the 
wrecks  of  that  early,  oral  religion,  in  its  successive 
renewals  among  the  fathers  of  our  race.  Constant 
revelations  kept  a  scattered  few  in  the  light,  but  at  a 
fearful  expense.  God's  words,  altogether  unstored,  and, 
therefore,  turning  quickly  into  error,  passed  off  from  them 
to  sow  the  earth  with  heathenism.  At  the  very  time 
w^hen  the  nations  were  dividing  in  the  earth,  after  the 
flood,  this  fatal  want  existed ;  no  organized  band  of  pious 
men  in  each  to  see  that  a  pure  faith  w^ent  with  them. 
Hence,  an  oral  faith  carried  away  from  the  places 
where  God  frequently  appeared — unrenewed — unguard- 
ed— unwritten — passing  into  the  corners  of  the  earth, 
there  became  the  perverted  centre  around  which  the 
heathen  heart  wove  busily  its  dark  mythologies,  a 
melancholy  monument  of  whose  high  origin  remains  in 
those  atoning  rites  of  sacrifice  and  penance  that  are 
found  in  all  of  them. 

What  would  have  become  of  revelation,  w^ithout  the 
church,  is  best  told  by  what  has  become  of  all  revelation, 
except  that  kept  by  the  church.  Since  the  world  began, 
God  has  revealed  vastly  more  than  those  few  books — 
the  Bible.  By  the  Urim  and  Thummim — by  the  open 
vision — by  the  thousand  prophets  of  Israel,  vastly  more 
was  spoken  and  heard  and  written,  just  as  true,  and,  at 
the  time,  as  binding,  than  was  given  to  the  church  to 
keep.  By  Christ,  much,  not  down  in  the  gospels,  was 
uttered,  just  as  true,  of  course,  and  at  the  time  as  binding 
as  any  thing  recorded ;  much  was  done — so  much  that, 
if  written,  the  world  itself  could  not  contain  the  books 


96  THE  DESIGN  OF  AN  EXTERNAL  CHURCH. 

that  should  be  written.  But  yet,  from  the  priest,  the 
prophet,  or  the  seer,  from  Christ,  or  his  apostles,  what 
well-attested  revelation  has  come  down  to  us  through 
private  hands'?  What  more  have  we  of  all,  than  the 
little  that  was  measured  out  for  the  church  to  keep? 
Tradition,  even  where  that,  too,  for  centuries,  has  been 
taken  up  and  written  out  by  a  church,  and  enjoyed  her 
care,  comes  to  us  mongrel  and  corrupt,  pretending  to 
bring  down  to  us  but  little,  and  that  little  stamped  all 
over  with  marks  of  modern  origin.  The  cheerful  ad- 
mission of  this,  as  it  touches  the  Jews  and  all  Old  Tes- 
tament tradition,  will  sufficiently  screen  me  from  the 
charge,  on  the  part  of  any  Christian  sect,  of  assuming 
the  failure  of  tradition.  For  even  the  Romanist,  talk  as 
he  may  of  the  preserving  of  tradition  since  the  time  of 
Christ,  will  confess  it  failed  through  the  greater  part  of 
the  world's  history. 

Inspired  truth,  that  would  have  filled  many  volumes, 
seems  to  have  been  uttered  by  the  prophets — but  one 
volume  has  come  down  to  us.  Of  all  that  was  left  in 
private  hands,  nothing  has  been  saved  ;  of  the  little 
committed  to  the  church,  nothing  has  been  lost.  The 
five  books  of  Moses  have  had  two  distinct  preservations 
- — by  Israel — by  Judah — each  attesting  the  other;  and 
all  the  rest,  under  the  care  of  officers  expressly  set  apart 
to  write  out  and  keep  the  scriptures,  have  come  down 
to  us,  though  in  many  MSS.,  yet  with  scarce  an  essen- 
tial syllable  of  difference.  And  to  show,  still  more 
signally,  the  wisdom,  and,  so  to  speak,  the  self-censor- 
ship of  such  organized  custody,  here  are  the  Jews,  still 
keeping  every  letter  of  their  testament  inviolate  in  the 
face  of  all  the  taunts  and  jeers  and  controversies  which 
have  been  moved  against  them,  on  the  ground  of  pas- 


THE  DESIGN  OF  AN  EXTERNAL  CHURCH.         97 

sages  which  they  cannot  explain,  and  which  a  few 
strokes  of  the  pen  nnight  expunge  ;  clear  testimonies  to 
Jesus,  thus  preserving  themselves  by  his  own  institution 
— the  church — in  the  very  mouths  of  his  enemies. 

We  leave  this  point,  however,  not  without  carefully 
exonerating  ourselves  from  the  charge  of  robbing  God's 
providence  of  the  honour  of  having  wonderfully  pre- 
served the  Bible,  and  specially  confounded  and  silenced 
traditions.  But  Providence  works  by  instruments,  and 
may  specially  smile  upon  any  well-chosen  instrument  (as 
the  sacrifice  of  Abel),  or  frown  upon  any  ill-chosen  (as 
the  sacrifice  of  Cain),  and  yet  not  forbid  us  to  see  fitness, 
or  unfitness  in  their  relative  success.  The  very  fact  of 
a  smile,  or  frown,  where,  as  in  the  official,  or  private 
treasuring  of  God's  words,  the  effort,  either  way,  is 
equally  praiseworthy,  is  a  virtual  decision,  by  Provi- 
dence itself,  that  one  way  is  efficient,  the  other  not 
so.  Precisely  thus,  Providence  specially  blesses  public 
preaching,  not  from  arbitrary  choice,  or  that  other 
means  are  intrinsically  wrong,  but  from  the  fitness  of 
things,  and  that  this  means  is  intrinsically  best. 

II.  The  church  stores  up  evidence  for  the  truth.  No 
religion  can  prove  itself  externally,  but  by  something 
supernatural.  All  external  evidence,  therefore,  looks  for 
its  basis  to  miracle,  or  prophecy.  To  bring  this  proof 
in  contact  with  the  mind,  however,  a  second  link  in 
evidence  is  needed — either  sense,  or  testimony.  Of 
these,  how  far  testimony  predominates,  in  practical  use, 
over  the  senses,  will  be  answered  by  this  question,  how 
many  miracles  we  have  actually  seen  performed,  or 
prophecies  actually  seen  fulfilled.  The  whole  store  of 
past  miracle  would  go  for  nothing,  were  it  not  for  testi- 
mony, bringing  it  to  us  over  thousands  of  years,  and  all 

9 


98  THE  DESIGN  OF  AN  EXTERNAL  CHURCH. 

accomplished  prophecy,  too,  if  not  for  testimony  to 
prove  the  prophecy  older  than  its  accomplishment. 
Testimony,  therefore,  covers  nearly  the  whole  field  of 
evidence,  and  is  vital  to  the  outward  claim  of  any 
religion. 

Now,  testimony  is,  peculiarly,  the  foster  child  of  the 
visible  church.  It  could  scarcely  live  without  her.  In 
two  ways  her  cherishing  influence  over  it  is  felt.  1.  Her 
own  annals  are  its  main  form  ;  her  own  person — the 
church  herself — is  its  chief  monument.  Just  as  you 
cannot  separate  the  history  of  a  nation  from  its  fables, 
until  it  begins  to  shape  itself  into  a  settled  government, 
and  chronicle  itself  in  its  own  public  oflices  ;  so  you 
would  be  hopelessly  puzzled  with  the  alliances  of  fiction 
with  fact  in  religion,  if,  for  thousands  of  years,  a  well- 
organized  church  had  not  been  striving,  for  the  sake 
of  her  own  existence,  to  keep  them  separate.  Then,  2. 
The  church  attracts  notice  ;  strangely  little,  to  be  sure, 
especially,  in  its  earlier  age,  but  far  more  than  isolated 
believers  would  ;  and  hence,  in  that  notice,  and  by  its 
means,  multiplies  a  second  and,  in  some  respects,  a  richer 
store  of  testimony — the  testimony  of  indifferent  specta- 
tors and  enemies.  We  owe  much  to  our  organization 
for  a  place,  at  all,  on  the  pages  of  secular  history. 

Thus,  by  its  own  heightened  care  and  by  the  greater 
scrutiny  of  the  world,  religion  can  better  prove  itself,  if 
it  dwell  united  in  an  external  body. 

III.  The  church  dispenses  the  truth.  In  union  is 
strength.  Where  man's  heaviest  work  is  to  be  done, 
viz.,  the  actual  teaching  of  religion — the  good  of  concert 
is  too  plain  for  argument. 

Piety  and  malignity — the  followers  of  Christ  and  the 
emissaries  of  Satan — must  not  stand  on  the  same  footing 


THE  DESIGN  OF  AN  EXTERNAL  CHURCH.         99 

as  religious  counsellors.  Let  dying  men  have  at  least 
the  poor  shield  of  a  wide  Christian  sanction  for  ^vhat 
they  hear,  and  not  be  left  to  a  random,  lying,  discordant 
teaching ;  let  ihem  have  a  steady  pressure  of  the  truth 
upon  their  minds — a  full  instruction,  and  not  be  given 
up  to  the  fitful  efforts  of  private  charity. 

Division  of  labour,  a  principle  almost  instinctively 
obeyed,  in  secular  work,  might  be  expected  to  rule  in 
this.  If  one  man  can  teach  a  thousand,  then  let  one  be 
disengaged  from  the  business  of  the  thousand,  and  be  set 
apart  for  religious  labour  and  high  accomplishment;  and 
let  the  thousand  band  together  to  support  and  hear  him. 

The  truth  of  all  this  has  been  signally  tested  by  spu- 
rious gospels.  Where  a  church  has  been  framed  to 
spread  them,  they  have  taken  root  and  lasted.  Where 
they  have  passed  privately  from  mind  to  mind,  they  have 
died  at  once. 

Remember,  too,  the  grander  enterprises  of  the  cross ; 
that  the  merchandise  of  wisdom  is  not  a  domestic  trade, 
alone,  but  a  wide  commerce,  that  seeks  its  market  through 
the  w^orid.  Only  glance  at  the  question,  whether  the 
heathen — wretchedly  served  even  by  the  church — might, 
without  cruelty,  be  given  up  to  private  effort,  and  we 
need  say  no  more. 

IV.  The  church  gives  exercise  in  the  truth.  Profes- 
sion, worship,  liberality — these  three  duties  would  amply 
repay  its  institution.  Profession  —  by  keeping  riveted 
on  the  mind  the  fact  that  it  has  renounced  the  world  ; 
worship — by  placing  the  soul,  weekly,  in  the  happiest  at- 
titude for  high  spiritual  exercise  ;  liberality — by  securing 
regular  appeals  to  the  heart,  for  generous  sacrifice  in  the 
noblest  cause. 

V.  The  church  enforces  the  truth.     With  no  such  in- 


100        THE  DESIGN  OF  AN  EXTERNAL  CHURCH. 

stitution,  discipline  would  be  a  thing  unknown ;  except, 
perhaps,  the  weak  rod  of  public  opinion,  which,  as  no 
faith  could  be  formally  professed,  would  be  but  lightly 
used. 

Now,  we  know  that  discipline,  at  best,  is  but  an  indi- 
rect means  of  grace.  The  pain  or  fear  that  it  produces 
gives  nothing  in  itself  to  piety  ;  not  even  where  God,  by 
Providence,  chasteneth  His  people.  No  surer,  however, 
is  the  good  result  of  this  divine  chastening,  than  where 
man,  not  overstepping  the  limit  of  moral  penalties,  nor 
using  the  sword  instead  of  the  simple  excommunication 
that  Christ  has  put  into  his  mouth,  stands  in  the  place  of 
God,  to  punish  an  apostate  brother.  Direct  or  indirect, 
the  tendency  is  to  humble  the  offender  and  turn  his  soul 
in  thought,  upon  his  sin,  and  to  foreshadow  a  day  more 
melancholy,  a  sentence  infinitely  sterner,  and  a  banish- 
ment eternal  and  not  to  be  revoked. 

To  make  evident  this  good  of  organized  religion,  you 
need  but  contrast  the  piety  of  a  church  so  lax  as  that  its 
judicial  function  is  steadily  neglected,  with  that  of  one 
so  inflexible  as  that  it  is  steadily  performed.  The  me- 
lancholy difference  will  show  the  meaning  of  the  church, 
at  least,  as  a  judicial  body. 

Now,  accordant,  to  the  very  letter,  with  the  offices  thus 
given  in  detail,  is  the  plan  on  which  the  church  is  organ- 
ized. Just  so — given  the  above-mentioned  purposes  for 
the  institution — we  would,  ourselves,  have  framed  it  a 
priori.  Who  shall  be  its  members?  Certainly,  if  truth  is 
to  be  kept,  and  its  evidence  loved  and  cherished  ;  if 
truth  is  to  be  taught,  and  its  power  exemplified  and  acted 
forth  ;  if  discipline  is  to  mean  any  thing,  or  worship  to 
be  other  than  an  empty  name  ;  not  mankind  in  mass,  but 
the  pious  of  mankind.     Will  the  visible  church  and  the 


THE  DESIGN  OF  AN  EXTERNAL  CHURCH.         101 

invisible  agree  in  boundary?  No.  As  membership  will 
be  simply  by  profession  and  outward  character,  some 
men  of  weak  faith  will  be  afraid  to  seek  it,  and  many 
men  of  no  faith  will  seek  and  gain  it;  so  that,  by  this 
natural  and  common  sense  view,  membership  or  its  want 
will  be  certain  security  for  nothing ;  a  man  may  be  in 
either  church  visible  or  invisible,  and  not  in  the  other. 
Will  the  visible  church  be  divided  into  branches  f  Yes. 
Because,  as  perfect  unity  of  opinion  is  the  fruit  of  perfect 
sanctification,  the  doctrine  of  which  she  is  the  store- 
house, will  differ  as  to  minor  points  in  different  minds; 
so  that  her  members,  still  nourished  from  a  common 
root  and  holding  free  communion  with  each  other,  will 
find  it  wise  to  act  and  teach  and  worship  in  different 
branches. 

All  other  fellowships  have  officers ;  will  the  church 
need  them  ?  Certainly ;  if  she  is  to  teach  and  rule  and 
give  efficiently,  over  each  duty  of  the  three,  qualified 
members  must  preside.  Secular  offices  are  entered  upon, 
not  by  intrusion,  but  appointment;  if  of  august  character, 
not  informally,  but  by  solemn  rite ;  how  shall  it  be  with 
this  ?  By  all  reason  the  same;  some  mode  of  choice — 
some  ceremony  of  entrance — marked  and  impressive 
according  to  the  solemnity  of  the  work. 

Thus  the  church  has  explained  herself  throughout  on 
the  plain  principles  of  common  sense.  She  has  given 
ample  reason  for  her  existence,  in  a  list  of  obvious  and 
sufficient  benefits — for  her  rule  of  membership  in  the 
folly  of  any  other — for  her  officers,  their  call  and  ordi- 
nation, in  her  own  essential  worthlessness  without  them 
— all  explained  under  that  one  design — to  teach,  instruct, 
and  discipline,  without  resort  to  any  thing  mystic,  or 
aside  from  natural  laws — no  miracle  in  her  work — no 

9* 


102  THE  DESIGN  OF  AN  EXTERNAL  CHURCH. 

charm  in  her  membership — no  wielding  of  God's  power 
in  the  rite  of  ordination,  or  by  the  men  whom  it  invests ; 
leaving  unclaimed  in  the  hands  of  the  Holy  Spirit  (this 
own  best  depositary)  all  the  power  that  is  to  bless  her 
simple,  human,  though  divinely-appointed  and  especially 
successful  instrumentahty. 

If  any  man  can  break  this  beautiful  simplicity,  and 
introduce  a  totally  distinct  design,  let  it  be  only  by  strict- 
est evidence. 


CHAPTER  V. 

DANGER  OF  ATTRIBUTING  TO  EXTERNALS  CERTAIN    SPURIOUS 
DESIGNS. 

One,  whole,  symmetrical  design  has  been  found  in 
the  last  two  chapters,  for  externals  and  an  external 
church,  w  ith  no  necessity,  or  place,  as  concerns  the 
completeness  of  that  one,  to  interweave  other  designs 
which  learned  men  have  defended,  and  which  large  de- 
nominations have  embraced.  And  we  have  promised 
an  attempt  to  show  that  these  other  designs  lack  proof, 
and  contravene  the  gospel,  and  must,  therefore,  give 
place  and  leave  the  first  unmarred  in  its  simpleness  and 
unity.  If,  by  devoting  a  chapter  in  advance,  however, 
a  natural  origin  for  just  such  spurious  notions  in  the 
church  can  be  pointed  out,  and  it  can  be  made  to  appear 
that  precisely  these  might  have  been  predicted  from  the 
known  laws  of  man's  depravity,  it  may  be  obviating 
prejudice  based  on  the  wdde  currency  they  have  had, 
and  will  be  further  clearing  the  way  for  that  final  argu- 
ment. The  notion  of  a  power  of  magic  enchantment  in 
an  orator  would,  as  we  have  seen,  be  rendered  highly 
improbable,  in  that  the  spell  evident  upon  the  people 
finds  a  sufficient  cause  in  his  impassioned  eloquence; 
but  still  more  improbable,  in  advance  of  direct  evidence, 
if  an  origin  can  be  found  for  the  notion  in  some  well- 
known  idiosyncrasy  of  those  who  wish  us  to  believe  it. 


104       DANGER  OF  ATTRIBUTING  TO  EXTERNALS 

Now,  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  superstition,  an 
original  and  main  corruption  of  our  nature,  we  have 
never  heard  denied.  It  is  either  creative,  or  alterant 
It  may  be  defined  to  be  that  vice  of  the  soul  which  busies 
itself,  either  in  originating  new  modes,  or  objects  of  w^or- 
ship,  or  in  turning  the  natural  into  the  supernatural. 
The  Hindoo  is  led  by  superstition  when  he  creates  a 
god  of  evil.  The  Parsee  is  led  by  superstition  when  he 
turns  the  sun  into  a  god.  It  is  with  this  last  operation 
of  the  vice  that  we  have  now  to  do. 

Our  religion,  with  all  its  array  of  natural  means,  is 
revealed  to  minds,  by  confession,  superstitious.  What 
might  we  predict  as  the  result  1  That  superstition  would 
be,  at  once,  at  work,  turning  each  natural  m.eans  into  its 
corresponding  supernatural  means,  or  (to  change  the 
name  so  as  to  meet  the  extreme  result  of  this  tendency) 
into  its  corresponding  supernatural  cause.  As  an  expe- 
riment, to  see  whether  this  is  actually  done,  let  us  take 
the  list  of  means  already  given  under  the  heads  of  "  ex- 
ternals" and  "  an  external  church,"  and  let  us,  ourselves, 
definitely  make  the  changes  which  the  above  rule  of  the 
vice  prescribes.  We  shall  get  a  corresponding  list  of 
products,  which  will  be,  partly,  acknowledged  supersti- 
tions (so  plainly  got  by  this  rule,  and  yet  so  foul  in  their 
nature,  as  to  throw  the  utmost  suspicion  on  all  brought 
into  company  with  them,  by  a  like  deduction),  and,  partly, 
those  very  pretended  offices,  whose  spuriousness  the 
next  chapter  is  to  prove. 

I.  Externals. 
I.  They  teach  by  revealing  God  and  ourselves.     The 
"  natural  means"  in  this  case  are  the  externals  them- 


CERTAIN  SPURIOUS  DESIGNS.  105 

selves  ;  as  works  of  God  and  objects  of  the  thought  and 
action  of  man. 

a.  As  works  of  God,  they  are  the  means  of  teaching, 
by  the  marks  of  design  that  they  contain  and  by  the 
beauty,  complexity,  and  benevolence  of  that  design,  the 
power,  wisdom,  and  goodness  of  the  Great  First  Cause. 
Superstition,  therefore,  would  hasten  to  mistake  (if  the 
"  means"  for  the  "  cause,"  then)  God's  works  for  himself — 
the  instruments  of  this  bright  display  for  its  author — 
"  worshipping  and  serving  the  creature  more  than  the 
creator." 

By  whatever  means  God's  glory  was  most  displayed, 
— by  the  sun,  the  moon,  earth,  fire, — those  means  would 
be  first  turned  into  deities,  and  then  the  lower  orders  of 
creation,  one  by  one,  would  find  their  place  in  an  easily 
satisfied  and  growing  mythology.  Rivers  and  fountains 
— plants  and  animals — showing,  by  apt  design,  special 
kindness  in  God  toward  the  countries  where  they  are — 
men  gifted  with  high  strength,  wisdom,  or  virtue — any 
thing,  indeed,  that  vividly  manifests  its  creator,  would 
be  deified,  at  once,  without  the  trouble  of  looking  through 
it  to  a  higher  divinity. 

We  may  go  farther.  If  man,  in  his  fondness  for 
aiding  all  his  conceptions  by  sense,  should  carve  an 
emblem  of  God,  this  symbolic  "  means"  of  reminding 
him  of  the  divine  perfections,  though,  at  first,  innocently 
made,  might  usurp  the  place  of  the  "  Cause,"  and  at  last 
arrest  in  itself  the  regards  it  once  cherished  for  the  Deity. 
So  far  might  this  be  the  case,  as  to  render  it  highly  dan- 
gerous to  use  such  symbols  in  worship,  and  to  make  a 
prohibition,  in  this  respect,  a  part  of  God's  revelation  to 
men. 

The  rule,  so  far,  is  true  to  fact.    Its  product  is  precisely 


106        DANGER  OF  ATTRIBUTING  TO  EXTERNALS 

that  error  which  man's  mind  has  reahzed  in  looking 
upon  outward  nature — that  deep  and  desolating  curse — 
idolatry — that  has  reigned,  the  most  crying  enormity  of 
our  nature,  all  over  the  world — that  child  of  superstition, 
by  a  birth  confessed  and  palpable,  which,  in  one  age  or 
other,  has  turned  all  nature  into  gods — which  worshipped 
in  Persia  fire  and  the  host  of  heaven ;  in  Egypt,  the  plants 
of  her  gardens,  the  beasts  of  the  land,  and  the  monsters 
of  the  river ;  in  Greece,  her  countrymen,  those  wise  in 
council,  or  brave  in  war,  or  cunning  in  the  arts ;  in 
India,  the  emblems  that  her  fathers  chose,  her  grim  idols 
and  her  holy  river. 

h.  As  objects  of  the  thought  and  action  of  men,  exter- 
nals are  the  means  of  revealing  us  to  ourselves,  in  that 
exercise  of  our  nature  in  varied  thought  and  action 
which  would  be  impossible  without  an  external  world. 
The  mistake  of  superstition  here  would  be  (if  the  "  means" 
for  the  "cause,"  then)  the  externals  themselves  for  the 
exercise  of  which  they  are  the  means,  i.  e.,  the  outward 
for  the  inward  act,  leading  us  to  value  and  regard  our- 
selves as  though  the  body  w^ere  ourselves,  not  the  soul, 
and,  therefore,  its  motions  were  to  be  the  mark  of  cha- 
racter, not  the  motions  of  the  soul  which  are  back  of 
them — leading  us,  in  fine,  to  imagine  merit  in  mere 
words  of  the  lips  and  actions  of  the  hand,  when  the  heart 
is  not  in  them. 

How  far  this  result  is  true  to  nature,  w^e  need  not  stop 
to  show.^ 

2.  Externals  teach  by  pain  and  pleasure. 

The  natural  means  in  this  case  are,  on  the  one  hand, 
pain.     Just  as  its  physical  office  is,  to  protect  the  body 

*  Is.  xxix.  13. 


CERTAIN  SPURIOUS  DESIGNS.  107 

from  injuries,  by  making  it  feel  their  touch,  so,  its 
rehgious  office  is  to  keep  the  soul  from  sin,  by  reminding 
it  of  the  displeasure  of  God.  Taking  the  corresponding 
cause,  the  mistake  of  superstition  would  be,  to  imagine 
an  efficient  virtue  in  pain  itself,  tending  to  drive  out  sin. 
Asa  practical  result,  we  might  look  for  ascetic  life 
and  all  forms  of  voluntary  wretchedness,  courting,  for 
the  extirpation  of  depravity,  this  direct  powder  of  pain. 
And  then  the  realized  fact  is  notorious  among  ancient 
and  modern  heretics  and  heathen. 

But,  in  this  instance,  the  mistake  occurs  in  a  second 
form.  Pain  is  the  natural  means  of  punishment,  as  well 
as  of  discipline.  Superstition  might  clothe  it  with  a 
supernatural  power  to  punish — to  punish  more  than  its 
own  severity  would  naturally  count — more  than  as  so 
much  pain  and  so  long— might  give  it  an  efficiency 
which  it  can  only  have  when  a  divine  person  endures 
it,  to  exhaust  justice  and  make  expiation  for  the  sinner. 
The  practical  result  would  be  all  forms  of  self-inflicted 
punishment ;  and  the  realized  fact  is  at  hand  in  the  knives 
and  lancets  of  the  priests  of  Baal — in  the  fires  of  Moloch 
— in  the  rack  and  the  hook,  and  the  car  andthe  pyre,  of 
the  Indian  devotee,  and  (the  presumption  at  least  is  over- 
whelming) in  the  knotty  scourge— in  the  iron  bed — in 
the  hair  garment — and  the  whole  catalogue  of  penances 
of  the  Roman  church. 

Pleasure,  on  the  other  hand,  passing  through  a  like 
hypothetical  change,  yields  a  product  still  more  notori- 
ously agreeing  w^ith  man's  actual  experience,  and  which, 
though  in  common  speech,  not  brought  under  the  head 
of  superstition,  but  found  wide  enough  to  have  a  name 
alone,  will  only  serve  to  show  a  feature  of  common 


108       DANGER  OF  ATTRIBUTING  TO  EXTERNALS 

kindred  in  superstition  with  that  general  depravity  of 
which  it  forms  a  part. 

Pleasure,  as  the  body  wins  it  for  us  through  the 
avenues  of  sense,  is  a  means  intended  to  keep  men  re- 
minded of  the  goodness  and  all-satisfying  riches  of  its 
Cause.  The  error,  here,  w^ould  be,  to  mistake  the  channel 
for  the  fountain,  letting  pleasure  arrest  in  itself  the  hopes 
and  desires  and  affections  that  it  should  send  up  higher 
— and  claim  a  supernatural  power  to  make  us  happy, 
which  can  be  realized  only  in  God. 

How  far  this  result  is  answered  by  reality,  men's 
strongest  temptations  may  bear  witness.  "  The  lust  of 
the  flesh,  the  lust  of  the  eye,  and  the  pride  of  life,"  all 
finding  their  centre  in  this  one  mistake,  seem  to  fill  up 
half  the  measure  of  the  soul's  corruption. 

3.  Externals  teach  by  intercourse  with  other  beings. 

As  before,  let  us  say,  by  example — by  language. 

a.  Example  is  a  "means"  intended  to  bring  before  the 
soul  a  living  model  of  virtue,  thereby  winning  an  influ- 
ence that  abstract  description  could  never  win.  Of 
course,  example  is  imperative,  only  so  far  as  it  is 
virtuous,  and,  as  a  judge  of  this,  whoever  suffers  its  in- 
fluence, is  held  responsible. 

Now,  the  hypothetic  mistake  here  would  be,  to  suffer 
example  to  be  the  deciding  cause-of  our  moral  judg- 
ments, and  not  simply  the  means  of  judging;  giving  it  a 
primary  influence,  simply  as  example,  and  not  a  repre- 
sentative influence,  merely,  as  showing  itself  to  be 
virtuous. 

At  a  glance,  this  will  be  recognised  as  an  actual  and 
wide-spread  delusion,  so  strong  as  to  deceive  some  into 
the  belief  that  it  alone,  and  no  inborn  depravity,  is  the 


CERTAIN  SPURIOUS  DESIGNS.  109- 

reason  why  all  men,  since  the  fall,  are  sinners,  so  strong, 
certainly,  as  to  lead  to  one  result,  as  strange  as  it  is 
melancholy,  that  the  .examples  of  wickedness  should 
have  the  ascendency  over  those  of  virtue. 

h.  Language  (speech,  writing,  signs,  &c.)  may  seem  a 
term  scarcely  wide  enough  to  exhaust  all  the  rest  that 
social  intercourse  does  for  us  in  religion,  when  it  is 
remembered  that  it  may  be  auxiliary  to  all  the  other 
spiritual  uses  of  the  body,  (as  where  a  fellow-man  leads 
us  to  the  study  of  nature,  or  brings  upon  us  pleasure  or 
pain,  or  stirs  us  up  to  moral  action),  and  that  it  is,  of 
course,  primary  in  all  the  uses  of  the  church.  Give  it  an 
office,  however,  as  wide  as  we  have  given  both  ex- 
ternals and  the  church,  and  it  wull  submit  itself  to  our 
experiment,  just  as  happily.  Social  intercourse  is  a 
means  of  teaching  and  discipline,  in  order  to  grace  in  the 
soul.  The  usual  mistake,  here,  w^ould  be,  to  give  it  a 
causal  influence  in  the  more  direct  imparting  of  grace, 
making  our  fellow-man  not  the  exhibitor,  or  furtherer  of 
truth,  in  order  to  salvation,  but,  in  analogy  with  all  the 
other  changes,  the  dispenser  of  salvation.  There  would 
be  room,  here,  for  an  endless  number  of  intermediate  and 
lesser  degrees  of  change,  but  this  would  be  the  point  of 
ultimate  tendency — to  give  to  means  a  supernatural 
power  to  do  that  to  which  they  were  only  meant  to 
minister. 

Think  a  moment,  and  you  will  perceive  a  double  con- 
sequence from  this — that  it  would  take,  on  the  one  hand, 
prerogative  out  of  the  hands  of  God,  and,  on  the  other, 
work  out  of  the  hands  of  man — building  up,  on  the  one 
hand,  an  idolatrous  religion,  and,  on  the  other,  one 
thoroughly  vicarious.  Because,  just  so  far  as  a  means 
ascends  toward  the  position  of  a  cause,  by  arrogating  to 

10 


110       DANGER  OF  ATTRIBUTING  TO  EXTERNALS 

itself  more  immediate  power,  will  it,  not  only,  trench 
upon  the  province  of  God,  but  save  the  labour  of  man. 
Means  must  he  used,  with  labour  proportioned  to  their 
character,  as  merely  means ;  power  need  be  only  felt. 
We  might  anticipate,  therefore,  a  twofold  result  from 
the  mistake  in  question — an  idolatrous  reverence  for 
certain  men,  and  a  vicarious  trust  to  what  they  do  in 
works  of  general  obedience,  or  in  official  acts. 

How  far  this  precisely  has  been  realized,  must  be  con- 
fessed in  the  ascendency  won  by  priests  over  the  homage 
and  spiritual  confidence  of  men,  endlessly,  among  the 
Pagans  and,  measurably,  among  the  Jews — and,  also, 
(unless,  by  direct  proof,  established  as  an  exception,)  in 
the  works  of  supererogation,  the  absolution,  the  saving 
rites  and  ghostly  power  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  as  well 
as  in  kindred  reliances  in  nominally  Protestant  com- 
munions. 

4.  Externals  teach  by  exercise  in  moral  action. 

a.  Outward  action  is  the  spoken  language  of  virtue, 
intended  to  exhibit  to  the  senses  of  the  body  the  exercises 
of  the  soul,  that  these  may  be  drawn  out  in  the  act  and 
by  the  exigency.  Briefly,  then,  it  is  a  means  intended 
to  enlist  the  soul  in  a  higher  exercise  of  piety.  Here 
superstition,  by  its  unchanging  rule,  would  give  to  the 
outward  act  a  causal  power,  and  say  that  it  directly  pro- 
cured piety — that  such  acts  as  might  be  seized  upon  as 
fit  subjects  of  the  error  would,  of  themselves,  (with  more, 
or  less,  demand  of  previous  grace,  according  as  the  error 
is  less  or  more  advanced)  bring  grace  into  the  soul ; — 
that  payment  of  a  certain  sum,  or  submission  to  a  cer- 
tain rite,  or  endurance  of  a  certain  pain,  would,  all  ex- 
ternal as  it  is,  be  anointed  by  God  with  strength  to 
affect  our  spiritual  condition ;  of  course,  as  in  former 


CERTAIN  SPURIOUS  DESIGNS.  Ill 

cases,  by  itself,  dropping  off  any  consideration  of  its 
success  as  a  means  in  naturally  stirring  up,  or  evidencing 
the  exercise  of  grace. 

Paganism,  with  its  shouts  and  dances;  Judaism,  with 
its  fasts^  and  washings;  Popery,  with  its  crossings  and 
bowings,  and  professed  Protestantism,  so  far  as  it  has 
learnt  any  thing  akin  to  these,  will  give  abundant  ex- 
amples, either  confessed,  or  suspected,  of  this,  as  no 
imaginary  change.'' 

h.  But,  closely  allied  with  the  above  result,  and,  per- 
haps, on  the  side  of  superstition,  not  to  be  distinguished 
from  it,  is  the  construction  put  upon  the  special  rewards 
to  which  outward  action  ministers.  It  ministers  to  them, 
we  have  seen, as  a  "means"  of  higher  moral  exercise  in 
the  soul,  and  so,  as  a  means  (though,  of  course,  one  step 
further  off)  of  higher  reward  to  the  soul.  Now  the 
usual  mistake  would  be  (to  exalt  the  "  means"),  to  count 
the  act  and  not  the  exercise,  and  hence,  too  often,  the 
act,  without  the  exercise,  as  winning  the  reward.  The 
practical  operation  of  which  would  be,  endless  attention 
to  outward  effort  and  ceremonial,  and  the  promise  of 

*  Fasting  might  seem  a  curious  exception  to  the  common  office  of 
external  acts,  and  something  akin  to  penance.  When,  however,  in  its 
influence  on  piety,  it  is  placed  side  by  side  with  temperance,  or  a  care  of 
health,  its  true  design  is  evident,  not,  indeed,  primarily,  to  exercise  in 
piety,  but  to  lighten  and  clear  the  mind  for  it,  by  well-known  natural 
principles.  Of  this  singularity  in  means,  however,  superstition,  in  making 
her  change,  takes  little  note,  but  gives  fasting  a  direct  office,  like  her 
whole  list  of  other  acts. 

''  The  corresponding  account  that  superstition  would  give  of  habits 
mentioned  before,  as  the  second  benefit  of  external  acts,  is  so  obvious 
that  it  need  not  be  noticed.  What  sound  religion  would  call  the  result, 
through  grace,  of  constant  exercise,  superstition  would  call  the  aggregate 
of  frequent  direct  impartings  of  grace  by  externals. 


112 


DANGER  OF  ATTRIBUTING  TO  EXTERNALS 


^reward  for  that,  with  insufficient  regard  to  the  state  of 
the  heart  that  prompts  it. 

To  nnake  incontestable  something  more  than  theory 
here,  the  whole  religious  history  of  man  would  load  our 
pages  with  examples.  Indeed,  we  need  not  search  par- 
ticular mythologies,  or  creeds ;  each  heart  will  plead 
guilty  to  the  error.  The  earliest  religious  mistake  of 
childhood,  and  the  persevering  mistake  of  the  maturest 
piety,  is  to  make  the  body  do  for  it  a  vicarious  worship, 
the  mere  w^ords  of  prayer  expecting  the  reward  of 
actually  conceived  petitions,  and  a  mere  presence  in  a 
church,  the  reward  of  devotion  there,  and  the  mere 
reading  of  the  word  of  God,  the  reward  of  gathering  and 
remembering  its  truths. 

Having  seen  how  untiringly  superstition  follows  the 
body  through  every  turn  of  its  religious  duty,  and  that, 
too,  without  caring  to  depart  from  one  single  rule  of 
deception,  and  how,  in  all  Romanism,  and  in  much  Pro- 
testantism, things  are  found  bearing  a  most  unhappy 
likeness  to  the  confessed  and  foulest  fruits  of  this  decep- 
tion, so  much  so,  that,  before  hearing  of  their  sanction 
by  pretended  revelation,  we  might  have  anticipated 
them  among  us  as  from  the  same  mother,  and  by  the 
same  law  of  birth,  let  us  enter  upon  the  other  half  of  our 
proposed  experinient. 

II.  The  Church. 

1.  It  stores  away  the  truth.  The  "  natural  means," 
and,  therefore,  the  great  advantage,  that  an  associa- 
tion of  Christians  has  to  keep  the  parts  of  a  revelation 
together,  and  to  transcribe  each  copy,  strictly,  under 
niutual  supervision,  a  glance  has  already  made  apparent. 
Handed  about  and  copied  at  random,  by  good  men,  or 
bad,  it  would  soon  be  dissipated. 


CERTAIN   SrURIOUS  DESIGNS.  113 

Superstition,  however,  would  hasten  to  change  the 
"means"  into  a  "supernatural  power."  Not  satisfied 
with  regarding  the  church  as  intended,  from  the  sim- 
ple advantages  of  her  position,  and  from  that  special 
blessing  that  any  of  God's  faithful  servants  has,  to  hold 
fast  a  sound  revelation,  as  successive  ages  rise  to 
take  it  at  her  hands  and  form  their  judgment  of  it,  it 
would  regard  her  as  anointed  with  a  species  of  divine 
wisdom,  not  to  keep  and  know  and  judge  like  private 
men,  but  to  say,  by  a  kind  of  holy  intuition,  lodged 
somewhere  in  her  body,  what  precisely  God's  revelation 
is;  then  to  comment  upon  it  and  tell  its  meaning,  so 
that  the  comment,  on  the  very  ground  of  its  origin,  shall 
be  as  necessarily  true  as  the  text ; — in  one  word,  to  keep 
the  Bible,  not  by  means  alone,  and,  therefore,  in  a  way 
subject  to  error,  but  by  infallible  power,  a  power  much 
like  that  of  its  first  inspiration,  deciding,  with  equal  cer- 
tainty, what  it  is,  and  what  it  signifies. 

Perfectly  of  a  piece  with  all  this,  would  be  the  notion 
that  the  church,  in  every  respect,  is  not  the  minister,  but 
the  master  of  revelation,  with  power  to  tell  the  people 
how  much  of  it  may  be  read,  or  whether  any;  or  to 
seal  it  to  all  but  herself,  and  make  her  own  word,  at 
second  hand,  the  people's  revelation ;  or  to  add  to  it,  not 
her  glosses  only,  but  matter  quite  additional,  inventing 
new  rites  and  ceremonies,  and  laying  new  claims  upon 
the  service  of  her  members. 

That  precisely  these  things  have  been  realized  in  the 
Christian  church,  is  of  course  notorious.  That  precisely 
these,  if  not  of  God,  would  issue  from  the  working  of 
superstition,  only  prejudice  we  think  could  persist  in 
questioning. 

2.  The  Church  stores  up  evidence  for  the  truth. 
10* 


114       DANGER  OF  ATTRIBUTING  TO  EXTERNALS 

Turning  the  means  into  a  cause,  the  mistake,  here, 
would  be,  to  consider  the  church  as  originating,  or  con- 
stituting evidence,  rather  than  as  simply  gathering  it,  or 
in  her  own  history  making  a  part  of  it.  Men  would 
learn  to  count  her  word  as  intrinsically  proof — taking 
the  sentences  from  her  lips  as  self  established,  without 
the  necessity  of  independent  evidence.  An  authority 
not  even  claimed  by  inspired  apostles^  would  be  granted 
her,  to  have  all  right  of  private  judgment  merged  in  her 
decisions.  And,  indeed,  this  would  be  but  a  consequence 
of  the  last  mistake  that  we  considered ;  for  the  same 
argument  that  could  maintain  the  necessary  infallibility 
of  the  Church,  would  fully  cover  and  justify  her  claim 
to  belief  for  her  own  sake,  as  incapable  of  erring. 

That  superstition  has  actually  led  to  such  a  result,  it 
need  not  be  pointed  at  in  the  creeds  of  churches  to  help 
you  to  suspect;  but  we  may  assert  the  fact,  at  once,  from 
the  personal  experience  of  all  men,  who,  while  they  may 
reject  in  theory  the  authority  of  their  church,  yet  in 
practice  detect  in  themselves  a  constant  tendency  to 
build  their  belief  upon  it.  Indeed,  if  men  would 
thoroughly  examine  how  they  first  comeby  their  creeds, 
and  how  much  well-investigated  evidence,  at  the  very 
best,  they  have  for  them,  those  who  hate  most  the  prin- 
ciple of  blind  adhesion,  would  be  often  startled  at  the 
strength  with  which  it  practically  governs  them.  Birth 
in  this  church,  or  that  gives  more  men  their  speculative 
creeds,  than  all  the  study  ever  elicited  in  the  choice. 

3.  The  Church  dispenses  the  truth.  The  means  which 
her  associated  strength  gives  her  so  much  facility  to  use, 

"  "  Though  we,  or  an  angel  from  heaven  preach  any  other  gospel  unto 
you  than  that  which  we  have  preached  unto  3'^ou,  let  him  be  accursed." 
Gal.  i.  8. 


CERTAIN  SPURIOUS  DESIGNS.  115 

would  pass  the  usual  metamorphosis,  and  be  turned  into 
hidden  virtues,  placed  at  her  disposal  for  the  immediate 
salvation,  or  reprobation  of  men.  Her  language  would 
be  less  of  preaching  than  of  infusing  and  imparting ;  and 
whereas  these  virtues  could  be  treasured  nowhere  else, 
the  notion  would  soon  be  started,  that  want  of  visible 
church  membership,  apart  from  any  wilful  contumacy 
in  declining  it,  must  cut  a  man  off  from  any  but  un- 
covenanted  and  extraordinary  provisions  for  hope  or 
pardon.  The  church,  which  seemed  but  as  an  instrument 
made  for  man,  and  not  man  for  it, — but  as  a  servant  to 
store  and  spread  a  gospel  truth,  itself,  only  the  instru- 
ment of  an  all-giving  and  all-determining  Spirit — but  a 
help,  therefore,  which  a  man  might  totally  decline  and 
shun,  and  yet  expose  himself  to  nothing  but  the  guilt  of 
rejecting  an  ordinance  of  God,  and  the  loss  of  its  bless- 
ing as  a  means, — would  be  erected  into  a  great  secondary 
cause,  and  so  into  a  deciding  test.  The  simple  union 
that  God  had  given  to  the  labour  of  Christians,  with  its 
train  of  still  simpler  ordinances,  would  be  made  to 
embosom  a  mystic  charge,  a  flaw,  or  failure,  or  neglect 
in  w^ielding  which  would  cost  a  soul  perdition. 

How  far  such  a  mistake  has  been  realized  in  some 
religions,  and  how  well  it  may  be  suspected  in  others, 
four  denounced  victims  of  a  principle,  in  each  case,  appa- 
rently the  same,  may  serve  in  all  brevity  to  show — the 
Gentile  of  Judaism,  the  infidel  of  Mohammedanism, 
the  heretic  of  Popery,  and  the  Dissenter  of  English 
Prelacy. 

4.  The  Church  gives  exercise  in  the  truth.  Her  means 
■for  this  are  the  strong  restraints  of  public  profession,  the 
high  advantages  of  public  worship,  and  the  warm 
appeals  of  pubhc  charity.     Turning  the  natural  into  the 


116       DANGER  OF  ATTRIBUTING  TO  EXTERNALS 

supernatural,  the  usual  mistake  would  be,  to  attribute  a 
mystic  good  to  each  of  these,  altogether  beyond  the 
blessing  of  God  upon  simple  means. 

Gifts  to  the  church  would  be  thought  to  redound  to 
the  profit  of  the  giver  in  a  way  not  to  be  estimated  ex- 
clusively, by  the  strength  of  his  motive  in  them,  nor  to 
be  compared  with  the  common  gifts  of  private  benevo- 
lence. 

Church  ordinances  would  assume  a  ghostly  meaning. 
Sacraments,  from  being  simple  memorials,  seals,  and 
symbols,  occasions  of  communion,  or  initiatory  rites, 
bearing  with  them  a  special  blessing,  only  in  view  of  the 
special  exercise  of  piety  that  they  stir  up,  would  clothe 
themselves  with  divine  efficiency,  actually  embosoming 
the  agency  they  were  intended  to  represent,  themselves 
setting  the  seal  they  were  to  teach  foith  to  set,  them- 
selves constituting  the  communion  to  which,  by  obvious 
influences,  they  were  meant  only  to  minister. 

Sacred  places  would  be  idolized.  The  church,  in-, 
stead  of  merely  answering  a  rational  design,  as  a  conve- 
nient place  of  worship,  would  become,  mystically,  favour- 
able to  it,  to  the  prohibition  of  other  places.  Prayer 
there  would  be  thought  to  tell  better  upon  the  soul  than 
prayer  elsewhere  of  equal  piety  and  by  equal  numbers ; 
and  that,  not  as  the  simple  answer  of  some  early  petition, 
like  Solomon's,  that  God  would  always  meet  with  his 
people  there  and  hear  them,  but  by  virtue  of  its  use  and 
consecration  as  a  house  of  God. 

Time  would  gather  to  itself  the  same  power  with 
place.  Certain  set  hours  of  prayer,  and  certain  set  days 
of  fasting,  would  promise  better  answers  and  results  than 
others. 

Words  would  become  holy,  so  as  to  be  retained  for 


CERTAIN  SPURIOUS  DESIGNS.  117 

their  mystic  value,  even  with  embarrassment  and  incon- 
venience, nay  with  seeming  absurdity,  when  they  have 
become  no  longer  the  vernacular  tongue. 

I  might  fill  out  the  mistake  more  completely,  by 
writing  a  complete  list  of  every  thing  prominent  in 
worship — official  dress  and  gesture,  church  furniture  and 
arrangement,  &c.,  &c. — but  my  end  is  already  answered. 

Now,  to  the  realization  of  all  this,  it  is  a  little  strange 
with  what  well-yoked  agreement  Paganism  and  nominal 
Christianity  unite  to  contribute.  Let  me  run  over  briefly 
a  list  of  actual,  or  suspected  instances. 

As  to  sacred  gifts — we  have  the  Corban  of  the  Jew, 
that  well-known  sentence,  claiming,  in  alms  sent  to  the 
temple,  virtue  above  all  other  charities,  and  excuse  from 
the  most  holy  debts  of  gratitude  or  kindred ;  we  have 
the  money  of  the  Hindoo  on  the  altar  of  his  idol,  as  a 
propitiation  against  what  he  fears,  or  a  price  for  what 
he  hopes  ;  and  we  have  the  varied  forms  of  mass,  in- 
dulgence, and  absolution,  in  which  the  Papist  buys  a 
pardon  for  himself,  or  for  the  dead. 

As  to  sacraments,  we  hav^e  the  reliance  upon  circum- 
cision of  the  Mohammedans  and  Jews,  upon  a  bath  in 
the  Ganges  by  the  Indian  devotee,  and  upon  the  "  opus 
operatum"  of  baptism  and  the  eucharist  by  professed 
branches  of  the  modern  church. 

As  to  words,  w^e  have  liturgies  and  forms  of  prayer, 
held  fast  from  an  imagined  sacredness,  after  their  lan- 
guage has  become  dead, — the  Hebrew  liturgy  of  the 
Jew — the  Syriac  of  the  Greek — and  the  Latin  of  the 
Roman,  with  many  additional  instances  in  the  obsolete 
languages  of  Eastern  heathen. 

Then  as  to  place,  time,  dress,  &c.,  we  have  the  groves, 
and  temples,  and  churches;  the  matins  and  vespers,  and 


118    DANGER  OF  ATTRIBUTING  TO  EXTERNALS,  ETC. 

the  "new  moons  and  appointed  feasts,"  the  fasts  and 
saints'  days  ;  the  phylacteries  and  bordered  garments, 
the  tonsure  and  cowl  and  cassock ;  the  mitre  and  sur- 
plice ;  not  all,  of  course,  nor,  always,  idolatrous,  but  of 
whose  likeness,  in  the  reverence  and  importance  they 
have  claimed  to  the  result  we  have  imagined,  the  reader, 
in  each  instance  of  their  use,  will  be  able  to  decide. 

5.  The  church  enforces  the  truth. 

The  means  in  this  case  is  discipline,  a  rational  instru- 
mentality, which,  by  censure  and  excommunication  in 
the  visible  church,  humbles  the  offender,  and  reminds 
him  of  corresponding  evils,  which,  if  the  discernment  of 
the  ecclesiastical  court  has  been  true,  he  is  in  peril  of, 
in  his  relations  with  the  church  invisible.  Now,  the  mis- 
take of  superstition  would  be,  to  drop  the  idea  of  natural 
instrumentality,  and  give  a  ghostly  power  over  those 
evils,  themselves,  into  the  hands  of  the  church.  Its  mere 
declarative  censures  would  be  exchanged  into  efficient 
curses;  its  sentence  of  visible  excommunication  into 
effective  banishment  from  the  hope  of  life. 

Having  thus  found  in  the  prolific  mother  of  all  idolatry, 
and  in  her  varied  progeny,  got  by  one  law  of  birth, 
parent  and  kindred  for  the  whole  class  of  alleged  church 
abuses,  to  whose  catalogue  they  must  go  the  moment 
proof  against  them  is  complete,  let  us  attempt  its  com- 
pletion, at  once,  by  resuming,  again,  our  main  line  of 
argument. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS. 

The  uses  in  religion,  as  we  understand  them,  of  every- 
thing that  presents  itself  to  sense,  have  been  seen  beauti- 
fully to  harmonize  in  one  design : — 

Externals  teach  (instruct  and  discipline)  in  piety; 
that  piety  being  the  only  condition,  on  man's  part,  of 
salvation. 

Error  has  never  the  singleness  of  truth,  and  it  is,  there- 
fore, hard  to  express  all  the  spurious  uses  under  a 
second,  general  design.  The  nearest  expression  to  this, 
however,  of  which  language  is  capable,  is,  perhaps,  the 
following : 

1.  Certain  externals  directly  impart  grace;  and  2, 
are,  themselves,  essential  conditions  of  salvation. 

This  sentence,  too,  is  practically  correct,  as  it  gives 
the  precise  doctrine  of  our  opponents  as  to  "  certain 
externals."  It  only  fails  by  asserting  too  much  of  cer- 
tain others,  which,  though  they  claim  a  supernatural 
efficacy,  forbidding  them  to  be  ranked  (as  we  rank  all) 
as  mere  natural  means,  still,  offer  their  efficacy,  under 
some  condition,  on  the  one  hand,  or  assert  their  necessity 
as  not  totally  absolute,  on  the  other. 

How  often  and  how  far — under  what  exceptions  and 
with  what  reserves  those  who  differ  from  us  on  these 


120  A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS. 

points  will  adopt  the  sentence,  can  be  best  judged  by 
glancing  over  some  of  the  rites  of  their  religion. 

Roman  Catholics  believe  that  the  soul  of  an  infant 
receives  direct  grace  in  baptism — in  such  sense  as  that, 
dying  without  baptism,  it  shall  fail  of  heaven,  but,  with 
it,  shall  be  received  there.^  In  this  case,  of  course,  the 
sentence  holds  good,  unconditionally,  in  both  its  members. 

They  say,  again,  that  the  baptism  of  adults  "  remits 
original  sin,  and  actual  guilt — however  enormous,"^  and 
"  with  it,  all  the  punishment  due  to  sin  ;"•=  that  it  "  re- 
plenishes our  souls  with  divine  grace ;"''  that  it  "  unites 
us  to  Christ,  as  members  to  their  head  ;"°  that  it  "  seals 
us  with  a  character  that  can  never  be  effaced  from  the 
soul,"^  and  ''  opens  to  us  the  portals  of  Heaven  ;"s  all 
this,  however,  only  on  condition,  beforehand,  of  "  faith, 
compunction,  and  a  firm  purpose  of  avoiding  sin ;'"'  and 
that  it  is  essential,^  with  a  very  narrow  exception,  (in 
case  of  martyrs,  "  and  adults,  who,  not  being  able  to 
have  the  sacrament  administered  to  them,  die  with  a 
sincere  desire  of  receiving  it,  accompanied  by,  and  inclu- 
ded in  perfect  charity ,"J)  to  the  salvation  of  the  soul. 

They  teach  that  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass  "  is  not  less 


*  "  Infants,  unless  baptized,  cannot  enter  heaven,  and,  hence,  we  may 
well  conceive  how  deep  the  enormity  of  their  guilt,  who,  through  negli- 
gence, suffer  them  to  remain  without  the  grace  of  the  sacrament  longer 
than  necessity  may  require."  Catechism  of  Council  of  Trent,  p.  164, 
(American  edition.) 

^  Catechism  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  p.  167.     (Baltimore  edition.) 
<=  Ibid.  p.  169.  d  Ibid.  p.  172,  «  Ibid.  p.  173. 

f  Ibid.  p.  174.  s  Ibid.  p.  175.  ^  ibid.  p.  233. 

*  "  Unless  they  are  regenerated  through  the  grace  of  baptism,  be  their 
parents  Christians,  or  infidels,  they  are  born  to  eternal  misery  and  ever- 
lasting  destruction."     Ibid.  p.  162. 

J  Catechism  of  the  Christian  Doctrine,  (2d  ed.)  p.  86. 


A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS.  121 

available  when  offered  for  them,"  (the  dead,)  "  than  when 
offered  in  atonement  for  the  sins,  in  alleviation  of  the 
punishments,  the  satisfactions,  the  calamities,  or  for  the 
relief  of  the  necessities  of  the  living  ;"*  and  that  some 
such  sacrifice,  under  the  hand  of  the  living,  is  indispensa- 
bly necessary  to  the  relief  of  the  dead. 

They  believe  that  the  eucharist  "  imparts  grace  to  the 
soul,"^  only,  however,  on  condition  of  certain  acts  and 
exercises  of  preparation.'' 

The  doctrine  of  certain  Protestants  approaches  these 
in  all  degrees  of  nearness.  They  believe  that  the  sacra- 
ments,— we  need  not  stop  to  particularize, — are  in  such 
sense  efficacious  to  life;  that  the  soul  excluding  itself 
from  them  must  be  given  over  to  God's  "  uncovenanted 
mercies.'"^  Opinions  of  this  kind,  in  churches  once  pro- 
testing against  Rome,  are  not  yet  sufficiently  matured 
to  be  definitely,  or  harmoniously,  or  at  all,  authoritatively, 
(by  any  concordant  act  of  council  or  convention),  enter- 


»  Catalogue  of  the  Christian  Doctrine,  2d  ed.,  p.  166.     ^  Ibid.,  p.  220. 

<:  Ibid.,  p.  223. 

^  "  Baptism  gives  life."  Pusey^s  Sermon,  p.  6.  "  Baptism  containeth 
the  remission  of  sins,  and  hath  the  germ  of  spiritual  life."  Ibid.,  p.  5, 
N.  Y.  ed.  "  In  baptism  two  very  different  causes  are  combined :  the 
one,  God  himself;  the  other,  a  creature"  (water)  "  which  He  hath  thought 
fit  to  hallow  to  that  end."  Ox.  Tr.,  vol.  2,  p.  26.  "  This  miracle."  Ibid., 
vol.  2,  p.  68.  In  baptism  "  the  old  man  is  laid  aside,  the  new  taken ;  he 
entereth  a  sinner,  he  ariseth  justified."  Vol.  2,  p.  47.  "  According  both 
to  the  declaration  of  our  Lord  and  our  faith,  it  is  truly  flesh  and  truly 
blood.  And  these,  received  into  us,  cause  that  we  are  in  Christ  and 
Christ  in  us."  Pusei/s  Sermon  on  the  Eucharist  (N.  Y.),  p.  7.  "  His 
flesh  and  blood  in  the  sacrament  shall  give  life,  not  only  because  they 
are  the  flesh  and  blood  of  the  incarnate  Word,  who  is  life,  but  also 
because  they  are  the  very  flesh  and  blood  which  were  given  and  shed 
for  the  life  of  the  world."     Idem,  p.  10. 

11 


122  A  SPURIOUS   DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS. 

tained ;  we,  therefore,  present  them  in  language  only 
not  too  general  to  meet  our  purpose. 

It  appears,  then,  that  the  first  member  of  our  proposi- 
tion : — Certain  externals  directly  impart  grace,  is  a  true 
expression  in  every  instance  of  the  class  of  opinions  that 
are  in  question  ;  Baptism,  Eucharist,  or  Confirmation — 
Unction  or  Penance,  all  being  thought  directly  to  confer 
grace,  only,  some  under  a  condition,  some  uncondition- 
ally. 

It  appears,  moreover,  that  the  second  member, — And 
are  themselves  essential  conditions  of  salvation,  is 
avowed  in  some  instances,  and  disavowed  in  others. 
From  which,  of  course,  we  gather,  that  in  principle  it 
is  maintained,  that  an  external  may  be  absolutely  essen- 
tial to  salvation,  one  or  two,  actually,  being  so. 

Now,  it  shall  be  our  aim  to  show,  that  neither  member 
of  the  proposition  can  be  true,  no  external  being,  either, 
directly  efficient,  or  absolutely  necessary  ; — that  the  first 
member  is  false,  even  when  conditional — still  more  pal- 
pably false  when  unconditional ;  and  that  it  gathers  to 
itself  a  still  higher  measure  of  evident  falsehood,  when 
associated  with  the  last  member. 

I.  "  God  is  a  spirit."  *  Certain  externals  (i.  e.  matter 
in  some  form  or  change)  directly  impart  grace.'  Be- 
tween these  is  the  first  inconsistency. 

If  God  has  ordered  it  so,  that  certain  externals  shall 
directly  secure  grace.  He  has  done  it  necessarily,  as  in 
the  nature  of  things  indispensable  to  man's  salvation;  or, 
He  has  done  it  of  choice,  as  better  than  other,  possible 
arrangements,  i.  e.  as  tending  best  to  His  design. 

He  has  not  done  it  necessarily,  as  indispensable  to 
man's   salvation,   for   that  would   be   absurd,  on   two 


I 


A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS.  123 

accounts ;  1st,  That  man  was  saved  (as  all  but  apostate 
Jews  admit)  without  such  direct  efficacy  of  externals 
under  a  former  dispensation;  and  2d,  That  it  would  be 
a  blank  denial  of  the  spirituality,  either  of  God,  or  of 
man,  or  of  both,  by  making  matter,  in  its  changes  indis- 
pensable, and  that,  not  in  any  intelligent  or  intelligible 
way,  as  a  medium  of  influence  between  one  and  the 
other — i.  e.  between  an  infinite  and  a  finite  mind,  in 
working  the  one  upon  the  other  a  spiritual  change. 
The  idea  is  out  of  the  question,  and  we  believe  is  never 
entertained. 

Then  He  must  have  done  it  in  choosing  between  dif- 
ferent expedients,  and  as  best  matching  His  design. 
Now  His  design  in  all  religion,  and,  therefore,  in  these 
parts  of  it  among  the  rest,  is  to  lead  men  to  the  intelli- 
gent, hearty,  and  truthful  service  of  God,  a  spirit.  The 
step  pertinent  to  our  inquiry,  then,  would  be,  how  far 
such  a  law  of  externals  would  tend  to  this  design?  If  a 
priest  in  due  form  sprinkle  a  little  water  upon  the  head 
of  a  child,  and  it  dies,  it  will  go  to  heaven ;  if  he  does 
not,  and  it  dies,  it  will  be  shut  out  for  ever ;  and  that 
not,  in  nature,  a  necessary  arrangement,  but  one  chosen 
out  of  others  to  serve  a  plan,  that  plan  being  to  lead 
men  to  the  spiritual  worship  of  a  spiritual  God.  How 
do  these  things  agree  ? 

Were  such  ceremonial  acts — the  act  of  baptism  for 
example — an  isolated  thing,  a  thing  between  one  soul 
and  God,  the  reader  might  see,  without  the  least  confu- 
sion of  mind,  that  they  could  not  be  valuable  in  them- 
selves, but  only  because  of  the  heart  that  might  be  in 
them.  For  this  much  is  already  made  sure,  that  mind 
must  worship  mind ;  for  "  God  is  a  spirit,  and  they  that 
worship  Him  must  worship  Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth." 


124  A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF   CERTAIN  EXTERNALS. 

But  an  opponent  would  claim,  and  we  dare  not  but 
admit  a  difference  between  church  benefits  and  the 
heart's  obedience — that  there  are  private  acts  of  service 
to  God  and  official  acts  of  influence  upon  men, — that  a 
man,  or  an  aggregate  of  men  (the  church),  stand  in  two 
aspects  toward  externals,  using  them,  either,  as  turned 
toward  heaven,  in  the  way  of  obedience,  or  upon  the 
earth,  in  dealing  with  the  souls  of  others ;  and  that  in 
the  latter  use  of  them,  the  rule  "in  spirit  and  in  truth" 
has  not  the  same  authority.  For  example,  a  man  may 
stand  up  and  preach  the  gospel,  with  his  heart  quite 
alien  from  his  work ;  and  yet  the  words  he  utters,  and 
the  tones  and  gestures  that  impress  them,  may  reach 
their  end  and  save  the  people.  So  a  man  may  admi- 
nister the  sacraments,  and  without  discerning  the  Lord's 
body  himself,  may  exhibit  it  to  others;  and  without 
sealing  one  vow  himself,  may  administer  many  vows. 

An  opponent,  then,  might  argue, — I  admit  that  an  act 
of  simple  obedience  to  God  must  be  "  in  spirit,"  but  an 
act  of  official  ministry  to  men  may  be  not  "  in  spirit," 
and  yet  work  its  end. 

The  difference  between  his  opinion  and  our  own  is 
nothing,  if  he  goes  no  farther.  But  should  he  go  on  to 
argue  that  the  subject  of  that  ministerial  act  might  be 
directly  benefited  by  it,  at  the  time,  in  any  other  mea- 
sure, or  by  any  other  rule,  than  as  his  heart  went  after 
it,  so  that  neither  minister,  nor  subject,  nor  auditor, 
should  proportion  the  benefit  by  his  faith  at  the  time, 
and  yet  that  benefit  immediately  flow,  we  join  issue  with 
him  at  once;  there  can  be  no  benefit  of  externals  in 
themselves,  and  none,  except  as  some  heart  is  in  them. 

One  would  suppose  that  the  law  of  value  in  church 
administrations  would  be  the  same  as  in  private  acts  of 


A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS.  125 

obedience,  because  we  see  not  but  that  the  reason,  "  God 
is  a  spirit,"  is  as  pertinent  in  one  case  as  in  the  other. 
If  God,  in  asking  obedience  from  man,  sees  fit  to  say 
that  it  shall  consist  in  exercises  of  mind,  and  not  (for 
their  own  sake)  motions  of  body,  we  see  not  why,  for 
Uke  cause,  in  asking  conditions  for  such  a  thing  as  salva- 
tion, He  should  not  ask  exercises  of  mind,  and  not  (for 
their  own  sake)  motions  of  body.  If  God  must  be 
served  by  man  "  in  Spirit,"  i.  e.  Spirit  serving  spirit, 
God  not  being  pleased,  nor  man  impressed  with  any 
other  service,  and  if,  when  externals  come  in  at  all, 
they  must  come  in  inteUigibly,  to  help,  and  not  mysti- 
cally, to  supersede  (an  argument  which  the  Bible  plainly 
gives  into  our  hands"),  then,  by  like  reasoning,  it  would 
seem  that  if  man  must  be  saved  by  God,  it  must  be  "  in 
spirit,"  i.  e.  spirit  saving  Spirit,  and  externals,  where 
they  come  in  at  all,  must  come  in  inteUigibly,  to  dis- 
play, and  not  mystically,  to  hide  the  working  of  a  spirit. 

But  something  more  than  supposition  is  within  our 
reach. 

Recurring  to  Chapter  II.,  we  find  this  test  prepared 
for  us : — It  cannot  be  the  design  of  religion  to  teach  any 
doctrine,  or  ordinance  that  obscures  the  spirituahty  of 
God. 

If  God  plans  religion  to  meet  its  ends ;  above  all,  if 
God  plans  religion  to  meet  the  peculiar  necessities  of 
men,  He  must  plan  it  so  as  to  keep  up  before  their  eyes 
His  own  spirituality.  The  most  superstitious  person 
that  calls  himself  a  Christian,  will  admit,  that  there  has 
been  a  heavy  downward  tendency  of  man,  from  exalt- 
ing God  as'  a  pure  spirit,  to  degrading  Him  into  the 

*  John  iv.  24. 
11* 


126  A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS. 

lowest  forms  of  matter.  The  idol  proves  it — and  the 
beast  and  the  bird,'— in  every  quarter  of  the  world  taking 
the  name  of  gods ;  the  carcass  on  the  altar  proves  it — 
and  the  knife  of  circumcision  and  the  water  of  the  river 
— all  over  the  world  doing  the  work  of  God ;  so  that  if 
God  intended  for  man  the  directest  temptation  to  his 
strongest  sin,  He  would  give  him  some  form  of  matter, 
which,  for  its  own  sake,  as  so  appointed,  and  not  for  the 
piety  that  went  with  it,  should  secure  divine  benefits. 

Besides,  the  most  superstitious  person  believes  that, 
every  where,  men  have  left  too  much  to  the  body  and 
too  little  to  the  soul  in  acts  of  private  obedience,  and 
that  the  hardest  labour  of  a  man,  whether  spent  upon 
himself  or  others,  is  to  keep  the  hands,  or  the  lips,  or  the 
knees  from  confounding  their  part  in  worship  with  the 
worship  of  the  mind.  So  that  if  God  intended  the  di- 
rectest temptation  to  man  to  one  of  his  strongest  sins, 
He  would  let  that  highest  human  good,  the  soul's  salva- 
tion, depend  upon  a  form — some  uttered  mass,  or  sprin- 
kled baptism,  or  kneeHng  penance, — the  outward  act  of 
one  man  for  another.  This  then  is  our  naked  argument. 
It  cannot  be  the  design  of  God  to  teach  that  any  ex- 
ternal, whatsoever,  directly  imparts  grace,  because,  with- 
out answering  the  great  design  of  religion,  which  is  to 
lead  men  to  the  truthful  and  spiritual  worship  of  God,  a 
Spirit,  it  directly  tempts  them  to  clothe  Him  in  a  mate- 
rial form,  and  to  worship  Him  in  a  material  way. 

II.  God  is  our  Redeemer.  "  Certain  externals  are 
essential  conditions  of  salvation."  Between  these  is  the 
second  inconsistency. 

Let  me  premise, — The  ground  of  any  blessing  must 
necessarily  be  a  condition  of  that  blessing  ;  but  a  condi- 

*  Rom.  i. 


A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS.  127 

lion  need  not  necessarily  be  the  ground.  The  death  of 
Christ  is  the  ground  of  a  sinner's  pardon,  and,  therefore, 
must  be  a  condition  of  that  pardon  ;  but  baptism  might  be 
a  condition  without  necessarily  being  its  ground.  This 
fact  only  casts  the  more  upon  us,  in  the  way  of  argu- 
ment. 

We  might  have  brief  despatch  with  the  error,  if  it 
would  narrow  itself  down  to  the  position,  that  notwith- 
standing it  is  for  the  sake  of  Christ,  and  on  the  ground 
of  his  redemption,  that  grace  is  given,  yet,  that  it  is 
given  for  the  sake  of  the  sacraments,  and  on  the  ground 
of  their  administration,  they  being  in  some  sort  an  expia- 
tion for  sin,  or  a  propitiation  of  favour.  The  two  posi- 
tions might  be  seen  so  evidently  to  clash,  that  we  might 
well  afford  to  dismiss  them  with  the  simplest  statement. 
And  we  know  not  that  any  intelligent  man  would  stand 
up  to  defend  them  as  ideas  that  could  ever  blend  to- 
gether in  the  same  system. 

As  conditions,  merely,  the  sacraments  are  best  held 
up  by  errorists — conditions  made  such  by  God's  special 
appointment;  and  it  is  in  this  less  manageable  shape 
that  w^e  must  meet  the  error.  It  is  the  shape  in  which 
it  is  most  plausible  for  them,  and  hardest  for  us  to  over- 
throw, but  then,  in  which,  if  overthrown,  d,  fortiori,  it  is 
overthrown  in  its  less  plausible  and  more  repulsive 
forms.  The  infant,  for  example,  is  saved  by  baptism, 
not  because  baptism  atones  for  any  guilt  lying  at  its 
door,  but  because  God  has  chosen  to  make  the  rite  the 
indispensable  channel  of  His  grace.  So  the  adult  is 
pardoned  under  its  administration,  by  the  like  sovereign 
pleasure  enduing  it  with  power,  mystically,  to  seal  and 
sanctify,  and  not  because  there  is  sufficient  merit,  either 
in  his  preparation  for  it,  or  submission  to  it,  to  earn  its 
efficacy. 


128  A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS. 

Let  me,  at  the  outset,  be  clearly  understood  in  saying, 
that  there  is  nothing  directly  absurd,  or  unjust  in  such  a 
condition.  The  infant  is  in  God's  hands.  He  may  suffer 
it  to  expand  its  depraved  intellectual  and  moral  powers 
in  another  world,  with  the  same  justice  that  he  may  in 
this.  There  is  nothing  in  the  principles  of  rectitude  to 
decide  that  He  may  suffer  it  to  live,  and  grow  up  de- 
praved here,  but  must  not  suffer  it  to  die  and  be  de- 
praved elsewhere.  To  save  it,  or  not,  therefore,  after 
death,  is  a  question  that  might  be  left,  with  no  answer 
from  justice,  for  His  good  pleasure  to  decide.  Then  to 
save  some  and  abandon  some,  and  to  make  baptism  or 
any  thing  else  the  distinguishing  condition,  may,  indeed, 
be  proved  inconsistent  and  unwise,  but  not,  in  itself, 
unjust  or  palpably  absurd.  So,  too,  of  adults ;  God 
would  be  righteous,  if  all  of  them  had  been  left  to  perish. 
To  make  any  thing  then  a  condition,  whether  it  be  a 
piece  of  money,  or  the  motion  of  a  hand,  or  the  most 
trivial  thought  or  look,  could  not  be  unrighteous, — 
simply,  because,  where  God  has  an  unconditional  right 
to  give,  He  may  set  what  condition  He  pleases  to  His 
gift.  There  could  be  nothing  intrinsically  absurd  or 
unjust  in  the  promise  that  if,  this  moment,  I  should  write 
the  name  Jehovah  on  the  paper  before  me,  my  soul,  for 
Christ's  sake,  should  pass  in  an  instant  from  death  to 
life  ;  and  more  than  this,  that  I  should  never  be  con- 
verted unless  the  name  was  wa'itten. 

Many  things,  however,  not,  at  first  blush,  absurd,  may 
yield  to  very  brief  and  very  simple  argum.ent,  and  this 
seems  to  be  one — the  idea  that  any  external  could  be 
singled  out  by  a  wise  and  consistent  God,  and  made 
essential,  or  in  any  sort  directly  efficient,  to  salvation. 

The  end  of  religion  stands  confessed  to  be  to  lead  man 
to  the  intelligent  service  of  God.    Nothing  in  rite  or  tenet. 


A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS.  129 

not  conducive  to  this  end,  can  be  admitted  ;  still  less,  that 
clashes  with  it.  Now  Christians  will  speak  still  more 
definitely,  and  exclude  every  thing  not  conducive  to  the 
intelligent  service  of  the  three  Persons  of  the  Godhead  ; 
and  will  thence  adaiit,  that  to  lead  the  minds  of  men  up 
to  Christ  in  duty  and  regard,  is  comprised  in  the  whole 
intention  of  that  religion,  visible  or  invisible,  that  God 
hath  revealed.  All  the  lines  of  revelation  may  be  ex- 
pected to  meet  in  Him,  and  certainly  nothing,  the  direct 
tendency  of  which  is  to  lead  men  to  nnisjudge  or  forget 
Him,  can  form  a  part  of  His  religion.  By  reasoning 
akin  to  this,  before,  w^e  framed  our  second  test.  It  can- 
not be  the  design  of  religion  to  teach  any  doctrine  or 
ordinance  that  obscures  the  work  of  Christ  as  our  Re- 
deemer. 

Observe,  before  we  offer  to  condemn  by  this  test 
those  few  misinterpreted  ceremonies,  how  beautifully 
every  thing  else  in  religion  passes  it.  Not  only  the 
negative  fact,  that  it  does  not  obscure,  but  the  positive 
fact,  that  it  illustrates,  is  manifest  of  the  whole  circle 
of  Christianity  besides.  Its  scriptures  teach;  and  its 
churches  teach;  and  its  clergy  teach;  and  its  sacra- 
ments teach  (we  mean  when  construed  as  seals  and 
emblems) ;  and  much  of  all  their  teaching  is  the  testi- 
mony of  Jesus.  Every  thing  has  some  eye  to  that; 
nothing  goes  counter  to  it  through  all  religion,  except 
that  part  where  the  opinion  of  our  opponents  touches. 
If  an  external  be  insisted  on  as  efficient  or  essential,  and 
yet  it  cannot  be  shown — as  it  will  be  seen  it  cannot — 
how  God,  by  ordaining  it  so,  furthers  an  intelligent  ser- 
vice of  Himself,— Father,  Son,  and  Spirit,— the  case 
would  stand  alone,  a  strange  exception  in  the  circle  of 
divine  enactments. 

"The  word" — "the   truth" — "wisdom   and   instruc- 


130  A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS. 

tion" — "  exhortation"  and  "  preaching" — "  correction" 
or  "  chastisement,"  are  the  language  that  comes  at  once 
to  the  pen  of  the  inspired  writer  whenever  the  means  of 
salvation  form  the  matter  in  question.  Where  sacra- 
ments, which  some  bid  us  call  the  chief  channels  of 
grace,  are  mentioned  once,  the  truth,  in  some  mode  of 
its  natural  and  simple  dispensation,  is  mentioned  many 
times  ;  and  for  a  single  instance  wdiere  the  abuse  of  a 
sacrament  is  rebuked,  and  its  evil  results  depicted,  may- 
be shown  a  thousand  denouncing  the  perversion  of  the 
word  of  God,  and  perdition  as  its  consequence. 

But  let  us  hasten  on.  We  would  not  denounce  the 
mystic  rites  that  are  in  question,  merely,  because  they 
fail  to  do  what  all  rehgion  besides  contributes  harmo- 
niously to  do,  i.  e.,  to  lead  men  by  natural  means  (of 
course,  under  a  supernatural  efficiency  of  the  Holy 
Spirit)  to  Christ ;  but  because  they  do  just  the  opposite 
— by  direct  tendency,  leading  souls  away  from  a  recog- 
nition of  Christ  as  their  Redeemer. 

If  a  man  be  told  that  the  sprinkling  of  w^ater  upon  his 
infant  child,  in  orderly  baptism,  will  work  a  change  upon 
its  soul,  and  that  if  it  die  in  infancy,  that  sprinkling  is 
the  settled  condition  of  its  salvation,  it  is  affirmed  that 
the  direct  working  of  the  doctrine  is  to  obscure  in  his 
mind  the  idea  of  pardon  for  the  sake  of  Christ.  (1.)  It 
makes  that  idea  complex.  It  adds  to  it  a  second,  which 
must  be  grasped  with  it,  making  it  much  easier  for  our 
weak  and  hostile  minds  to  misconceive  and  abuse  it. 
(2.)  It  misleads  by  resemblance.  Christ's  death  is  one 
condition;  the  child's  baptism  is  another;  we  grant  very 
different  in  their  nature ;  we  grant  not  absurd  in  their 
union ;  but  so  far  alike  as  to  usurp  each  other's  ground 
before  the  ignorant  and  prejudiced  minds  of  the  mass  of 


A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS.  131 

fallen  men ;  both  essential ; — the  visible  and  carnal  thing, 
on  that  very  account,  most  conspicuous  of  the  two  ; 
Xilso  in  the  order  of  nature,  the  antecedent  of  the  other, 
and  decisive  of  it  in  the  way  of  occasion  and  result. 
The  temptation  would  be  too  much  for  man.  Souls 
wishing,  as  all  originally  do,  to  push  Christ  out  of  sight, 
would  seem  to  see  in  it  far  too  direct  sanction  to  trust 
to  that  condition  of  the  two  which  is  more  peculiarly  in 
their  power.  Precisely  so  with  adult  baptism  ;  just  so 
far  as  men  hope  for  grace  through  the  rite  itself,  and 
not  simply  from  Christ  by  that  faith  w^hich  the  rite  stirs 
up;  and  just  so  far  as  they  hold  the  rite  essential  to 
remission,  will  they  be  in  danger  of  confounding  the 
arbitrary  condition  of  baptism  w^th  the  fundamental  and 
eternal  condition  of  Christ's  atonement. 

If  it  be  said,  the  fear  that  men  would  ever  exercise 
the  wrong  kind  of  faith  in  such  simple  rites  is  absurd, 
inasmuch  as  the  weakest  intellect  would  revolt  at  the 
idea  of  withdrawing  trust  from  Christ  to  place  it  on  a 
little  water,  or  some  simple  form,  we  answer,  the 
strongest  intellects  have  not  revolted  at  it.  How  was 
it  with  the  Jews  ?  Trust  due  only  to  Christ,  taken  off 
from  Him  and  reposed  in  circumcision  and  descent  from 
Abraham,  and  in  divers  washings  and  sacrifices,  was 
not  too  revolting  for  the  Jews,  even  though  without  the 
temptation,  as  all  confess,  of  a  sovereign  act  of  God 
making  any  of  their  rites  inseparable  from  salvation* 
If,  without  this  temptation,  therefore,  they  fell  so  griev- 
ously into  the  folly  of  trusting  to  Christ's  emblems  rather 
than  to  Himself, — so  that  a  whole  epistle  had  to  be  writ- 
ten to  those  of  Gallatia,  dealing  with  this  single  error, — 
d,  fortioriy  would  no  strength  of  man  be  a  safeguard 
against  the  folly,  now,  if  those  emblems  have  given 


132  A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS. 

place  to  others,  which  are  to  superadd  the  share  of  their 
own  direct  efficiency  and  necessity. 

Now,  we  say,  nothing  can  be  religion  which  contra^^ 
venes  the  very  object  of  religion,  and  nothing  can  be  of 
God  whose  direct  tendency  is  to  lead  from  God.  There- 
fore, by  no  sovereign  good  pleasure  of  His,  or  at  all 
with  his  approval,  are  externals  to  be,  in  themselves, 
essential,  or  in  any  degree  directly  efficacious  to  salva- 
tion. 

And  to  fortify  this  conclusion,  let  us  state  three  facts, 
never  known  to  be  denied.  (1.)  There  is  an  "offence 
in  the  cross,"  which  makes  the  idea  of  free  redemption 
abhorrent  to  unconverted  men.  There  is  a  stupidity  in 
the  heart,  which  renders  it  easy  to  be  deceived,  espe- 
cially in  the  vital  truths  of  religion.  No  quality  in 
God's  revelation,  then,  could  be  a  greater  blessing  to 
man  than  earnest  plainness  in  telling  him  the  truth,  and 
care  to  put  away  all  confusion.  (2.)  That  ordination  of 
God,  by  which  it  is  pretended  that  certain  externals  are 
clothed  with  mystic  power,  is  arbitrary  (in  the  innocent 
sense  of  that  word),  and  cannot  be  indispensable  to  reli- 
gion, for  the  simplest  of  all  reasons,  that  religion  once 
flourished  without  it.  (3.)  No  grand  cardinal  advantage 
can  be  discovered  in  it,  no  wide-reaching  influence  to 
be  expected  from  it,  pointing  the  careless  world,  or 
Christians,  more  happily,  to  the  knowledge  of  God — no 
one  thing  of  an  important  kind,  to  make  it  seem  better 
to  God  than  the  plan  we  assert,  of  holiness  as  the  sole 
condition,  of  the  Spirit  as  the  sole  supernatural  effi- 
ciency, and  of  rites  as  the  mere  natural  means,  acting 
on  obvious  principles.  We  know  trivial  advantages 
will  be  invented,  but  nothing  cardinal,  nothing  at  all  to 
counterbalance  the  amazing  evil  of  the  system.     Then, 


A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS.  133 

we  say,  here  is  positive  evidence  that  it  is  not  from 
God. 

It  will  be  argued  in  reply,  that  church-membership 
and  the  sacraments  are  by  express  command  of  God, 
and  are,  therefore,  necessary,  inasmuch  as  no  Christian 
can  wilfully  neglect  them.  Close  to  that  sentence  if  an 
opponent  will  stand,  and  will  plead  for  no  other  neces- 
sity, we  perfectly  agree  with  him ;  but  he  will  observe 
that  by  that  sentence  the  sacraments  are  no  more  neces- 
sary than  any  other  known  duty  which  the  Christian 
may  not  wilfully  neglect, — alms-giving,  or  patriotism, 
or  what  you  please,  from  the  list  of  virtues. 

He  does  not  plead  for  the  value  of  the  sacrament, 
simply  as  a  good  work; — that  properly  understood  (i.  e., 
the  blessing,  moral  exercise,  &c.,  of  a  good  work)  is 
our  ground, — but  for  its  value  to  the  infant,  and  to  the 
man  in  purgatory,  with  no  goodness  in  it,  and  for  its 
value  to  the  living  believer  in  itself,  and  not  propor- 
tioned to  his  goodness  in  it.  The  sacrament  with  him 
is  a  God-given  channel  of  grace ;  not  in  every  case,  nor 
merely  in  any,  a  God-rewarded  good  work. 

If  it  be  put  on  that  ground,  however,  it  is  argued, 
with  still  more  force,  absence  from  the  sacraments  is 
not  always  wilful,  nor,  with  deluded  heretics  or  ignorant 
men,  ever  so.  Then  shall  an  error  in  faith  about  exter- 
nals, as  to  which,  from  their  very  nature,  there  can  be 
no  internal  evidence,  no  self-witness  of  the  Spirit,  cost 
me  more  than  an  error  in  grave  questions  in  doctrinal 
theology  1  May  I  err  as  to  predestination,  or  persever- 
ance, the  Sonship  of  Christ,  or  man's  ability  to  repent, 
and  keep  my  place,  as  many  by  confession  do,  in  the 
true  communion  of  the  genuine  church,  but  be  cast  out 
and  perish  for  misjudging  the  necessity  of  an  outward 

12 


134         A  sruRious  design  of  certain  externals. 

ceremonial ;  that,  too,  when,  in  the  first  case,  piety  alone 
might  lead  me  right,  and  in  the  other,  only  special  and 
sovereign  enactments  of  God?  And,  on  the  other  hand, 
may  I  commit  all  kinds  of  outrageous  and  self-condemn- 
ing sins,  and  be  forgiven,  but  for  failing  to  place  my 
body  in  certain  positions,  under  certain  officers,  and 
that  not  wilfully,  but  from  believing  otherwise,  be  cast 
off  for  ever  1  The  idea  on  this  ground  is,  what  we  have 
confessed  it  is  not  on  the  other, — openly  and,  at  first 
glance,  absurd.  Then  I  may  blaspheme  Christ,  and  be 
pardoned,  but,  dying  without  baptism,  by  a  certain  line 
of  ministry,  shall  carry  up  to  judgment  an  unpardonable 
sin. 

No ;  it  cannot  be  from  holiness  in  the  act,  or  sin, 
merely  in  its  neglect,  that  salvation  is  made  to  depend 
on  baptism,  but  simply  that  in  God's  good  pleasure  he 
has  chosen  to  make  it  the  vehicle  of  grace.  We  fall 
back  then  upon  our  former  ground  of  refutation.  There 
is  no  tribute  to  the  grand  purpose  of  religion  in  such  a 
doctrine,  but,  on  the  contrary,  direct  temptation  in  it  to 
abandon  Christ.     It  is,  therefore,  not  from  God. 

We  cannot  have  done,  however,  without  meeting  our 
ov^m  argument  turned  against  itself. 

Why  is  faith  ordained  by  God  as  necessary  and  effi- 
cacious to  salvation  1  If  the  design  of  religion  be  to 
make  Christ's  work  stand  forth  as  the  grand  procuring 
cause,  why  is  it  ordered  that  we  must  be  saved  by  be- 
lieving? Grant  that  Christ's  righteousness  and  our  faith 
occupy  totally  diflferent  positions,  one  being  the  ground, 
the  other  the  means,  of  our  salvation,  still  they  are  both 
conditions;  and  so  long  as  the  latter,  beyond, question, 
obscures  in  many  minds  the  glory  and  the  fulness  of  the 
former,  why  should  not  our  Saviour's  righteousness,  by 


A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CEP.TAIN  EXTERNALS.  135 

itself,  avail,  with  no  additional  condition?  Does  not  this 
instance  to  the  contrary  vitiate  the  argument,  that  Scrip- 
ture cannot  design  to  teach  what  by  direct  tendency 
obscures  the  atonement  1 

In  reply,  let  it  be  freely  admitted  that  faith  is  liable  to 
the  abuse  with  which  it  is  charged.  Superstition  is 
often  busy  on  it,  working  her  usual  change,  making 
faith  forget  itself  as  an  instrument,  and  stand  as  the 
ground  of  pardon ;  "  God,  for  Christ's  sake,  has  lowered 
the  demands  of  His  law,  and  now  faith  is  our  obe- 
dience, and  in  its  own  right  wins  the  favour  that  we 
need."  That  this  error  is  a  serious  and  actual  one,  it  is 
out  of  our  power  to  question.  The  force  of  the  case, 
however,  as  setting  against  ourselves,  may  be  met  by  a 
few  plain  distinctions,  showing  that,  as  to  exposure  to 
mistake,  the  doctrine  of  faith  is  not  at  all  on  a  level  with 
the  exceptionable  doctrine  of  sacraments. 

1.  Faith  is,  in  its  own  nature,  indispensable  to  salva- 
tion. God  might  make  provision  to  show^  favour  to  his 
people  without  their  believing.  He  does  it.  Every 
infant  that  is  saved  by  dying,  and  every  adult  believer, 
before  his  conversion,  afford  instances  of  such  antici- 
pated favour.  But  that  saving  act  which  gives  present 
blessings  under  the  covenant,  actually  beginning  the 
good  that  has  been  held  in  store,  cannot  do  it  in  the 
absence  of  faith,  because  holiness  is  the  essence  of  that 
good,  and  faith  is  the  leading  element  of  holiness.  To 
save,  then,  without  faith,  so  far  as  such  an  act  might 
terminate  on  the  sinner,  would  be  nothing,  working  no 
change,  and  bringing  no  relief.  The  condition  of  the 
redeemed  soul  would  be  as  good  before  as  after  it. 
Man  could  not  be  saved  with  any  present  blessing  to 
himself,  in  this  life,  without  faith ;  nor,  indeed,  in  any 


136  A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS, 

life,  without,  either  faith,  or  that  direct,  spiritual  sight 
which  shall  hereafter  answer  to  it. 

How  different  those  mystic  instruments  which  men 
would  make  co-ordinate  to  faith  !  So  far  from  being  in 
themselves  indispensable,  their  most  idolatrous  supporters 
admit  that  for  ages  they  were  unused  and  unknown  in 
the  church.  There  is  nothing  in  their  own  nature  essen- 
tial or  even  kindred  to  the  gift  of  pardon,  or  to  the  bless- 
ings of  holiness.  So  far  as  any  thing  intrinsic  can 
decide,  men  might  be  saved  before,  after,  or  without 
them,  with  absolute  indifference.  The  appointment 
claimed  for  them,  therefore,  as  inseparable  instruments, 
since  it  must  be  altogether  arbitrary,  places  the  evil  to 
which  they  tend  in  a  totally  different  light  from  that  evil 
which  our  depravity  draws  from  the  doctrine  of  faith. 

2.  Faith  is  itself  a  fruit  of  salvation.  Therefore,  only, 
metonymically,  is  it  a  means  at  all.  It  looks  to  Christ's 
atonement  as  its  own  procuring  price.  "  For  by  grace 
are  ye  saved  through  faith ;  and  that  not  of  yourselves : 
it  is  the  gift  of  God."^ 

In  the  order  of  time  faith  and  salvation  coincide.^  In 
the  order  of  condition,  faith  is  first  and  salvation  after- 
ward.'' But  in  the  order  of  nature,  salvation  is  first, 
and  faith  is  its  earliest  benefit.'^ 

Of  course,  there  is  a  wide  difference  in  this  point  be- 
tween faith  and  a  regenerating  sacrament. 

3.  Faith,  in  its  very -nature,  honours  Christ  as  the  only 


^  Ephes.  ii.  8. 

^  "  He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath  everlasting  life."     John  iii.  36. 

c  "  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved."  Acts 
xvi.  31. 

•^  "  For  unto  you  it  is  given  in  the  behalf  of  Christ,  not  only  to  believe 
on  Him,  but  also,"  &c.     Pliil.  i.  29. 


A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS.  137 

foundation  of  trust.  If  its  office  then  subserve  the  ends 
of  unbelief,  it  naust  be  precisely  in  the  face  of  its  defini- 
tion ;  because  the  very  elements  that  constitute  it  are  a 
renunciation  of  self,  and  an  exclusive  reliance  upon  Jesus 
Christ. 

It  need  not  be  said  that  no  other  instrument  can  be 
conceived  that  so  completely  directs  the  adoring  regards 
of  man,  away  from  itself.  This  leads  me  to  a  fourth 
distinction. 

4.  It  is  not  the  direct  tendency  of  the  doctrine  of  faith 
to  lead  men  to  superstitious  error.  That  it  is  liable  to 
perversion,  has  been  cheerfully  granted.  But  so  are  all 
doctrines  in  the  whole  circle  of  revelation.  The  atone- 
ment itself,  i.  e.,  free  pardon  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  has 
had  grafted  upon  it  countless  heresies.  Universalism 
has  professed  to  grow  out  of  it,  and  all  antinomian 
error;  but  is  not  its  legitimate  tendency  quite  opposite 
from  these?  To  speak  definitely,  is  not  the  doctrine 
calculated  to  do  more  good  than  harm,  presenting  more 
truth  tending  to  piety,  than  truth  tempting  to  sin?  If  it 
is,  |hen  therein  it  ditfers  from  the  doctrine  of  the  absolute 
necessity  of  sacraments. 

Any  manner  of  mistrust  of  the  whole  argument,  thus 
brought  to  a  close,  may  perhaps  be  best  removed  by 
placing,  side  by  side  with  its  results,  the  results  of  a  kin- 
dred argument  by  an  inspired  apostle.  Indeed,  so 
clearly  does  the  apostle  Paul  first  reason  against,  and 
then  pronounce  against,  the  idea  of  the  absolute  effi- 
ciency, or  necessity  of  rites,  as  to  make  one  fault  of 
every  oiher  argument  a  fair  matter  of  question,  the 
fault  of  imagining  itself  of  any  use  after  his  ample  testi- 
mony ;  so  plainly  does  he  speak  to  the  very  point  we 

12* 


138  A   SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS. 

have   in  hand,  and  settle  it  by  a  twofold  sanction— in- 
spired argument  and  inspired  assertion. 

Paul  was  led  to  write  to  the  church  of  Galatia  by 
hearing  that  it  was  tainted  with  Jewish  heresies.    Some 
of  its  members,  leaving  the  pure  doctrine  of  Christ,  had 
resorted  to  the  rites  of  the  ceremonial  law,  under  an 
assurance,  on  the  part  of  their  teachers,  that  it  was  indis- 
pensable to  their  salvation — precisely  the  counsel  and 
the  claim  of  teachers    among   ourselves.     The  whole 
epistle  is  shaped  by  these  circumstances.     Its  drift  is 
this,  "  that  a  man  is  not  justified  by  the  works  of  the 
law,  but  by  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ."*     "  If  righteous- 
ness come  by  the  law,  then  Christ  is  dead  in  vain  ;"^ 
meaning  "  by  the  law,"  in  either  case,  not,  as  a  stranger 
to  the  usages  of  speech  among  the  Jews  might  imagine, 
the  moral,  but  the  ceremonial  law,  and  meaning  by  "  the 
works  of  the  law,"   not  perfect  moral  obedience,  but 
attention  to  just  such  ceremonial  rights  as  w^e  are  con- 
sidering.   That  such  is  the  meaning,  the  apostle  has  left 
us  ample  means  of  proof.     Observe  what  he  calls  "  the 
works  of  the  law,"  when  he  comes  to  speak  more  defi- 
nitely,— "  the  weak  and  beggarly  elements,  whereunto 
ye  desire  again  to  be  in  bondage.    Ye  observe  days  and 
months  and  times  and  years.    I  am  afraid  of  you,"  &c.*^ 
Indeed,  he  puts  it  past  all  question  that  ceremonial  works, 
and  not  perfect  obedience,  w^ere  his  mark,  by  himself 
urging  the  necessity  of  perfect  obedience,  in  case  the  rites 
his  opponents  contended  for  were  necessary,   presup- 
posing, of  course,  that  this  was  a  consequence  that  they 
would  not  at  all  like  to  recognise.    "  Behold,  I,  Paul,  say 

*Gal.  ii.  16.  bGal.  ii.  21.  <=  Gal.  iv.  9,  10,  11. 


A   SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS.  139 

unto  you,  that  if  ye  be  circumcised  Christ  shall  profit 
you  nothing.  For  I  testify  again  to  every  man  that  is 
circumcised,  that  he  is  a  debtor  to  do  the  whole  law."'' 

It  seems  they  mingled,  as  many  now  do,  grace  with 
ceremonies  as  grounds  of  salvation  —  some  hope  in 
Christ  with  much  hope  in  their  own  ritual  observances. 
Indeed,  Paul  uses  the  fact  that  they  were  not  willing 
w^holly  to  abandon  a  reliance  upon  Christ,  to  impress 
them  with  the  folly  of  the  rest  of  their  belief.  "  Christ 
is  become  of  no  effect  unto  you,  whosoever  of  you  are 
justified  by  the  law ;  ye  are  fallen  from  grace.'"* 

Lest  any  one  should  say,  however,  that  he  excludes 
from  our  ground  of  trust  only  the  old  Jewish  rites,  by 
no  means  the  new  Christian  sacraments ;  he  makes  his 
argument  one  of  principles,  not  merely  of  specific  cases ; 
that  wherein  it  touches  circumcision,  touches  baptism 
and  the  eucharist.  It  admits  of  no  confinement  to  any 
form,  or  law,  or  age  of  external  worship,  but  cuts  oflT 
the  whole  of  it,  in  all  times  and  lands,  from  any  share 
in  what  is  of  absolute  necessity  to  salvation.  That 
closing  declaration,  "  For  in  Christ  Jesus  neither  cir- 
cumcision availeth  any  thing,  nor  uncircumcision,  but  a 
new  creature,"*"  is  uttered  in  support  of  a  sentiment  as 
general  and  as  exclusive  as  any  that  Paul  could  choose 
as  the  sum  and  ending  of  his  argument.  "  God  forbid 
that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."d 

III.  God  is  our  Sanctifier.  "  Certain  externals  di- 
rectly impart  grace."  Betw^een  these  is  the  third  in- 
consistency. 

»  Gal.  V.  2, 3.  b  Gal.  v.  4.  <=  Gal.  vi.  15.  ^  Gal.  vi.  14. 


140  A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS. 

Our  argument  is  cumulative.  Though  the  first  and 
second  steps  were  false,  this  last  is  distinct  and  new, 
and  by  itself  would  serve  our  purpose  with  quite  inde- 
pendent proof 

No  conception  can  be  had,  we  think,  of  more  than 
three  general  ways  in  which  the  idea  of  the  efficacy  of 
externals  can  be  interpreted.  It  must  either  be  (1),  that 
the  external  has  intrinsic  power  to  renew  the  soul,  ex- 
clusive of  the  Spirit;  or  (2)  that  it  has  instrumental 
power  to  renew,  in  the  hand  of  the  Spirit ;  or  (3)  that  it 
has  summoning  power,  by  promise  to  mark  the  time  of 
the  Spirit;  in  shorter  words,  that  it  is  either  (1)  the 
whole,  or  (2)  the  help,  or  (3)  the  signal  of  renewing 
influence. 

(1.)  It  is  not  the  whole;  that  would  revolt  both  par- 
ties. Pretended  Christians  may  err  in  the  doctrines  of 
grace  as  they  may,  they  cannot  give  up  the  opinion  that 
the  Holy  Ghost  does  something  in  the  renewal  of  the 
soul,  and  that  that  something,  too,  must  be  of  a  primary 
kind,  since  nothing  could  be  more  complex  in  absurdity 
than  the  idea  of  a  spiritual  Creator  acting  as  auxiliary 
to  a  material  creature  in  renewing  a  spirit.  That  God 
wills  it  so,  and  purposely  stands  aloof,  and  delegates  to 
matter  spiritual  powder ;  or  that  they  are  both  primary — 
God  and  matter — working  together  and  doing  the  same 
things,  is  absurdity  quite  as  great,  only  turned  over  in 
another  view. 

Let  it  be  clearly  understood,  therefore,  that  opinion 
like  this  is  not  charged  upon  any  educated  advocate  of 
sacraments  in  the  Popish  form.  However  well  con- 
vinced that  the  error  tends  to  something  much  like  it  in 
the  minds  of  the  lower  orders  of  the  people,  still  we 


A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS.  141 

hurry  on,  without  caring  to  stop  and  argue  formally,  for 
we  are  sure  that  no  thinker  will  take  me  to  task  for  it 
as  any  omission. 

(2.)  But  neither  can  an  external  be  the  directly  effi- 
cient auxiliary  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  imparting  grace. 
What  kind  of  efficacy  does  it  borrow  ?  How  does  He 
use  it?  Take  what  is  substantial  in  a  rite,  whether  it 
be  water  or  oil,  or  the  person  of  the  priest — for  here  the 
efficiency  must  lie  if  any  where, — let  us  know  what 
form  of  efficiency  it  assumes.  Do  you  say,  the  water  is 
the  channel  of  the  Spirit?  What  do  you  mean, — that 
He  is  present  in  it?  He  is  every  where.  That  He 
moves  with  it,  entering  the  soul  as  it  touches  the  body  ? 
This  is  nothing  different  from  the  third  form  of  the  error, 
asserting  only  an  attendant  influence  of  the  Spirit, — 
that  by  promise,  though  altogether  detached  essentially 
from  the  rite.  He  makes  its  administration  the  signal  of 
what  He  does.  Do  you  say  the  water  is  the  helper  of 
the  Spirit?  Surely,  no;  not  dumb  matter  the  helper  of 
the  Almighty  in  dealing  with  the  soul.  Do  you  say  it 
is  the  essential  instrument  of  the  Spirit  ?  Not  so,  cer- 
tainly, if  for  the  first  four  thousand  years  of  the  history 
of  our  redemption,  by  all  admission.  He  had  no  such  in- 
strument. Do  you  say  not  the  essential  instrument,  but 
a  temporary  one,  endued  with  mystic  virtue,  under  the 
hand  of  the  consecrating  priest,  by  God's  good  pleasure, 
during  this  dispensation?  Then,  we  say,  sift  this  idea; 
try  to  find  some  resting-place  for  thought  upon  it,  and 
see  if  such  mystic  virtue  can,  in  the  nature  of  things,  be 
given  to  the  water,  so  as  to  be  any  thing  else  than  an 
attending  influence  of  the  Spirit.  The  water  is  applied, 
and,  in  the  very  act,  by  preconcerted  covenant,  the 
Spirit  is  applied.     The  Holy  Ghost  docs  not  store  him- 


142  A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS. 

self  in  the  water,  except  metonymica%,  by  promise, 
nor  does  He  lend  His  own  attributes  to  the  water;  for 
this  last  idea  is  blasphemous,  and  the  first  is  no  idea  at 
all.  The  intelligent  Papist,  therefore,  as  soon  as  he 
begins  to  think,  must  be  driven  to  the  third  form  of  the 
error ;  and  on  that  account  this  form  has  been,  perhaps, 
the  most  generally  received — (except  in  the  anomalous 
case  of  the  eucharist) — with  all  the  reasoning  class  in 
that  communion. 

(3).  As  the  priest  baptizes  with  water,  or  imposes 
hands,  or  anoints  with  oil,  sins  are  remitted  by  God,  and 
grace  is  imparted  by  the  Holy  Ghost."  This,  the  hardest 
to  set  aside  of  the  three,  inasmuch  as  it  has  nearest 
affinity  with  reason,  shall  discover  to  us  now  its  utter 
falsehood.  We  have  narrowed  down  the  error  to  one 
definite  form,  that  we  may  have  something  single  before 
our  minds  ;  not  at  all  to  escape  the  others,  because, 
a  fortiori,  if  our  reasoning  proves  this  false,  it  will  esta- 
blish the  same  of  them. 

'  The  doctrine  thus  worded  differs  totally  from  ours,  in  this.  We  te- 
lieve  that  remission  is  given  in  view  of  faith,  stirred  up  by  the  sacra- 
ment ;  they  believe  that  it  is  given  in  view  of  the  sacrament,  in  some 
cases,  without  faith,  as  of  infants,  &c. ;  and,  in  others,  not  at  all  in  closest 
connexion  with  faith,  or  by  means  of  it,  or  in  proportion  to  it ;  but  simply 
in  reference  to  it,  as  a  minor  condition,  or  there  being  no  bar  in  the  total 
want  of  it.  In  our  case,  faith  is  the  grand  means,  and  the  sacrament  of 
value,  only  so  far  as  it  enlists  faith.  In  theirs,  the  sacrament  is  the 
means,  and  faith — (and  that  in  some  cases  only) — a  mere  collateral 
condition. 

"  This  may  even  be  set  down  as  the  essence  of  sectarian  doctrine,  to 
consider  faith,  and  not  the  sacraments,  as  tlie  proper  instrument  of  justi- 
fication,  and  other  gospel  gifts ;  instead  of  holding,  that  the  grace  of 
Christ  comes  to  us  altogether  from  without,  (as  from  Him,  so  through 
externals  of  His  ordaining),  faith  being  but  the  sine  qua  non,  the  neces- 
sary condition  on  our  parts,  for  duly  receiving  it."  Oxford  Tracts,  Am, 
Ed.,  Advert,  p.  5. 


A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTALN  EXTERNALS.  143 

Let  it  be  said  frankly,  there  is  no  prima  facie  absur- 
dity in  the  opinion.  We  have  chosen  the  form  above 
given,  mainly  on  this  account,  that  we  cannot  despatch 
it,  as  we  might  the  others,  by  help  of  contradiction  borne 
on  its  very  face,  but  must  let  its  refutation  rest  back  on 
fundamental  principles.  The  Spirit  can  renew  the  soul 
when  He  pleases,  and,  therefore,  can  make  any,  the  most 
trivial  act  of  man,  or  change  of  matter,  the  signal  of  His 
work.  The  inconsistency  is  great,  but  must  be  sought 
deeper  than  the  surface. 

What  if  the  Almighty  should  command  me  to  carve 
a  marble  statue,  and  set  it  in  a  niche  in  my  study  wall, 
and  go  through  my  daily  devotions  before  it  ?  What 
though  He  promise  special  presence  in  the  marble — not 
actual  presence  specially,  for  that  is  absurd ;  He  is  pre- 
sent every  where ;  but  such  a  presence  as,  that  every 
where  else,  He  would  be  a  dumb  and  deaf  God,  careless 
of  my  prayers,  but  there  all  attention  and  mercy  t  At 
first  view  there  would  be  no  self-contradiction  in  the 
offer.  As  God  is  bound  to  hear  nowhere,  He  might  hear 
any  where,  and  I  should  have  cause  for  gratitude  that, 
though  in  this  little  space  of  all  the  globe,  and  before  this 
single  stone  among  the  thousand  other  possible  media 
of  worship,  still  I  am  admitted  at  all  to  an  audience  with 
God. 

The  impossibility  of  such  an  offer,  however,  would  be 
apparent  on  a  little  closer  reasoning.  What  is  the  whole 
end  of  religion,  whether  in  doctrine  or  worship?  To 
lead  men  to  the  service  of  God.  Is  service  accepted  by 
him,  any  farther  than  it  is  intelligent?  No;  "  God  is  a 
Spirit,"  &c.  Then  would  the  statue  bear  any  tribute  to 
the  great  object  of  religion?     Plainly  not;  this  binding 


144  A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS. 

necessary  relation  would  tell  nothing  of  the  attributes 
and  ways  of  God, — no,  but  degrade,  and  obscure  them  ; 
while,  by  a  known  law  of  the  huaian  heart,  the 
worshipper,  and  still  more  his  children  and  his  children's 
children,  would  more  and  more  merge  the  Deity  in  the 
marble  of  the  image.  This  would  be  a  direct  tendency ; 
stamping  the  whole  as  not  from  God. 

Precisely  a  like  argument  sets  aside,  even  in  its  mild- 
est form,  the  Popish  idea  of  sacraments.  Were  God  to 
make  them  indispensable  concomitants  of  grace,  he 
would  be  giving  over  to  them,  so  far  as  the  strongest 
temptation  can  do  it,  man's  reverence  for  the  Holy 
Ghost.  The  statue,  as  bearing  on  God,  and  such  sacra- 
ments, as  bearing  on  the  Spirit,  stand  in  exactly  kindred 
relation.  No  one  can  pretend  that  they  are  indispensable 
in  the  nature  of  things,  or  on  any  other  ground  than 
God's  special  enactment.  No  one  can  see  any  cardinal 
advantage  in  a  rule  that  should  make  them  indispen- 
sable. No  one  can  deny  that  man's  dependence  upon 
the  Spirit  is  one  of  the  most  odious  to  him  of  all  those 
that  are  vital  in  our  creed.  No  one  can  make  it  seem, 
therefore,  any  thing  but  false,  that  God,  by  an  enactment 
bearing  no  conceivable  tribute  to  the  truth,  should  frame 
for  man  a  direct  temptation  to  a  favourite  error. 

If  it  be  urged,  that  the  idea  is  preposterous,  that 
rational  men  could  be  put  in  peril  of  any  such  mistake 
as  to  repose  in  water,  or  some  carnal  rite,  trust  due  only 
to  the  Spirit,  we  are  content  simply  to  point  to  what  has 
been  done.  A  world  that  has  worshipped  leeks  and 
onions — cats  and  crocodiles — stocks  and  stones  and 
men,  ought  to  be  modest  in  singling  out  the  blunders 
against  which  it  shall  declare  itself  secure.    God  cannot 


A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS.  145 

be  the  minister  of  crimes  into  which  Jews  and  Christians 
and  Pagans  have  ahke  proved  themselves  capable  of 
falling. 

Not  only  does  the  vital  necessity  attributed  to  the  rite 
tempt  men  to  view  it  with  idolatrous  regard,  and  aftbrd 
them  an  easy  method  of  deluding  themselves  away  from 
the  burdensome  task  of  striving  after  the  Spirit,  but  the 
man  who  administers,  presents  himself  a  still  more 
perilous  object  to  the  people.  His  will  claims  a  deter- 
mining power  of  life  or  death.  The  soul  of  the  dying 
infant,  and  the  soul  tortured  in  purgatory,  both  rest  for 
their  happiness  upon  his  decision.  And  measurably  in 
respect  to  all  his  living  flock,  eternal  destinies  are  made 
or  marred — not  mediately  by  his  pious  labours,  but 
directly  at  his  official  pleasure.  If  he  refuse  to  baptize 
the  child,  it  fails  of  heaven ;  if  he  neglect  the  mass  for 
the  dead,  they  suffer  on  in  purgatory ;  if  he  withold 
church  ordinances  from  the  living,  he  starves  their  souls 
of  grace. 

Now,  we  are  willing  again  to  repeat,  the  absurdity  of 
this  is  not  direct.  God  may  make  either  nothing,  or 
dumb  matter,  or  huinan  act,  mark  the  time  of  his  grace ; 
simply  because,  grace  or  no  grace,  grace  now,  or  then, 
or  never,  is  a  matter,  in  itself  considered,  altogether  at 
his  own  sovereign  option.  We  may  go  farther,  and  tell 
instances  where  human  act  is  really  decisive  of  grace. 
A  slight  motion  of  my  hand  might  plant  a  dagger  in  the 
heart  of  some  man  already  regenerate,  and  summon  the 
Spirit  that  moment  to  finish  his  sanctifying  work.  So 
we  might  murder  an  infant,  and  our  blow,  w^e  firmly  be- 
lieve, would  be  the  signal  for  an  instantaneous  and  per- 
fect change  upon  its  soul.  No,  such  connexion  of  man's 
act  and  God's  power,  is  itself  absurd ;  and  where  death 

13 


146  A   SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS. 

is  at  once  the  interpreter  and  the  rite,  no  ulterior  incon- 
sistency or  damage  appears.  But  an  authoritative  act, 
in  which  a  man  is  empowered,  officially  to  decide 
whether  a  soul  shall  live  or  die,  presents  an  overwhelm- 
ing temptation  to  the  people.  A  God,  who  knows  the 
iron  strength  of  superstition  on  our  minds,  and  in  how 
many  instances  it  has  conquered  all  counter  motives  of 
envy  and  pride,  and  led  us  to  make  deities  of  weak  men 
like  ourselves^  could  not,  from  the  very  end  for  which 
he  designs  religion,  and  from  the  want  of  all  tribute  here 
to  such  an  end,  could  not  ordain  temptation  so  direct. 

The  argument  may  be  ended,  then,  by  quoting  our 
formal  test :— It  cannot  be  the  design  of  religion  to  teach 
any  doctrine  or  ordinance  that  obscures  the  work  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  as  our  Sanctifier ;  a  test  that  may  be  left 
still  more  confidently  with  the  reader,  if  he  will  go  over 
the  commonly  acknowledged  facts  of  his  religion,  and 
its  externals,  in  that  harmonious  sense  in  which  we  have 
explained  them,  and  see  how  beautifully  it  answers  to 
them  all. 

But  it  does  not,  it  will  be  said.  It  conflicts  with  the 
office  of  the  truth  in  sanctifying.  If  every  thing  should 
point  to  the  Spirit,  why  is  it  ordered  that  faith  shall 
come  by  hearing?  One  party  says  that  the  sprinkled 
water  of  baptism  is  necessary  to  salvation,  so  that  no 
one,  in  any  common  way,  is  saved  without  it.  Another 
party  says,  that  the  carrying  of  the  outward  word,  and 
the  motion  of  the  lips,  or  of  the  pen  in  teaching,  are  ne- 
cessary to  salvation,  so  that  no  one,  in  any  common 
way,  is  saved  without  this.  Now,  both  are  externals ; 
where  is  the  difference?  Why  not  let  the  work  of  the 
Spirit  stand  out  alone  with  no  auxiliary  ? 

In  reply,  it  may  be  said, — the  lack  of  baptism  would 


A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS.  147 

not  imply  an  absurdity,  because,  to  give  one  reason  out 
of  many,  there  was  once  a  time  when  there  was  no  such 
ordinance.  But  the  absence  of  the  truth  would  imply 
absurdity.  What  is  the  end  of  the  Spirit's  work  1  The 
new  birth  of  a  nature,  the  main  attribute  of  which  is 
thought.  Now,  before  thought,  as  in  the  case  of  an 
infant,  we  can  conceive  of  a  soul  regenerated  without 
the  truth.  The  Spirit's  agency  in  the  work  is  so  direct 
that  we  see  not  that  it  can  be  shown  that  where  thought 
is  not  active  at  the  time,  the  work  cannot  go  on  for  lack 
of  truth ;  and  it  is  not  in  that  way  that  truth  seems  to 
me  to  be  necessary.  For  imagine  a  case.  A  man  is 
asleep.  There  is  a  heart  there;  and  a  heart  in  a 
certain  state ;  and  that  state  is  such,  that  w^hen  the  cur- 
rent of  responsible  thought  begins  again  at  waking,  it 
will  be  a  polluted  current.  Now,  to  say  that  the  Pow  er 
that  makes  the  heart  could  not  take  that  one  in  its  dor- 
mant condition  and  change  it  from  one  moral  state  to 
another  (of  course  without  the  truth),  strikes  me  as 
utterly  without  reason.  It  is  not  said.  He  might  do  it 
consistently  with  this  plan ;  that  does  not  touch  the  prin- 
ciple ;  but  that  He  might  do  it,  in  the  nature  of  things, 
and  consistently  wnth  the  constitution  of  men,  and  that 
He  probably  may  do  it  in  the  cases  of  those  infants  who 
die,  or  who  are  sanctified  to  God,  if  any  be,  from  the 
womb. 

But  when  that  sleeping  heart  wakes  up,  or  the  infant 
comes  of  years,  and  is  thinking  and  feeling  at  the  time, 
the  case  is  different.  He  cannot  be  sanctified  without 
the  truth. 

He  cannot  be  sanctified  and  remain  as  he  is;  for  as 
he  is,  he  is  thinking  and  feeling  error.  If  he  thinks  on, 
after  the  change,  as  he  must,  he  must  think  truth  ;  for 


148  A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CEPv-TAlN  EXTERNALS. 

that  only  is  now  consistent  with  his  state.  If  he  thinks 
falsehood,  pride,  and  prejudice,  as  before,  he  is  not  sanc- 
tified, therefore  he  must  be  sanctified  by,  in,  or  accord- 
ing to,  the  truth,  as  you  may  please  to  call  it.  The 
heart  imagined  to  be  changed  in  its  sleeping  and  un- 
thinking hours,  must  wake  up  to  behold  the  truth.  The 
heart  changed  in  its  thinking  hours  must  be  changed  in 
beholding  the  truth ;  for  the  state  and  the  current,  i.  e., 
the  heart  and  the  thought,  must  grow  clear  and  pure 
together. 

But  this  is  not  enough,  it  will  be  argued.  It  shows 
the  necessity  of  the  presence  of  the  truth,  but  not  of  its 
instrumentality.  It  shows  that  when  the  eyes  of  a  mind 
are  opened  in  conversion,  the  truth  that  it  already  pos- 
sesses must  appear  before  them  in  a  new  and  spiritual 
light,  but  not  that  truth  must  come  in  as  a  means  in  open- 
ing those  eyes.  The  Spirit  does  not  convert  so  indis- 
criminately in  respect  to  time,  as  just  to  enlighten  men's 
minds  to  see  spiritually  the  truth  that  chances  to  be  in 
them,  without  preference  of  this  truth,  to  that  of  much 
truth,  to  little,  or  of  much  attention  to  the  truth,  to  no 
attention,  but  He  converts  decidedly  by  the  truth :  that 
is,  He  converts  a  man  who  is  reading,  or  thinking,  more 
probably,  than  one  who  is  ploughing,  or  trading,  and 
one  who  is  hearing  the  Gospel  in  a  church,  more  likely 
than  one  who  is  pleading  law,  or  casting  up  accounts.  A 
hardened  man  is  made  less  so,  generally,  by  something 
that  he  hears,  or  reads,  or  thinks,  and  less  and  less  so  in 
each  stage  of  approach  toward  conversion  by  successive 
entrances  of  truth.  If  converted,  it  is  more  likely  to  be 
under  some  powerful  sermon,  than  in  a  listless,  unthinking 
hour.  If  rapid  in  his  growth  in  grace,  it  is  apt  to  be  by 
much  commerce  with  the  truth ;   and  if  ever  cold  and 


A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS.  149 

backslidden,  some  visit  of  the  truth  will  have  more  or 
less  to  do  with  his  recovery.  In  one  word,  conversion 
is  not  only  an  opening  of  the  eyes  to  the  truth,  but  it  is 
truth  opening  the  eyes.     How,  and  why  is  this  ? 

In  reply,  let  it  be  premised.  Truth  is  not  an  indepen- 
dent existence.  It  is  a  mere  quality,  neither  spirit  nor 
matter.  It  is  the  law  to  which,  under  the  Spirit's  in- 
fluence, the  dispositions  of  the  soul  conform  themselves, 
like  those  vegetable  laws  of  texture  and  colour,  in  which 
a  plant  grows  up.  To  say,  as  gross  errorists  do,  that 
the  truth  regenerates  without  the  Spirit,  is  either  boldly 
metonymical,  or  absurd  ;  for  the  truth  is  nothing,  and, 
therefore,  to  attribute  to  it  actual  power,  and  that  highest 
power,  too,  of  moulding  a  spirit,  is  quite  in  the  face  of 
reason.  No  better  sense  can  come  out  of  it  than  this, 
that  man  regenerates  himself,  in  conformity  with  the 
truth. 

So,  on  like  accounts,  when  men  say  that  truth  is,  in 
any  common  sense,  the  instrument  of  the  Spirit  in  re- 
generation, they  speak  metonymically,  or  falsely.  Seek- 
ing warrant  for  the  language,  in  the  idea  that  there  can 
be  nothing  like  direct  impact  of  one  free  spirit  upon 
another,  and  that,  therefore,  God  cannot  reach  the  soul 
without  the  intervention  of  a  third  agent — truth.  Some 
have  called  truth  the  point,  with  which  God  pierces  the 
spiritual  ear,  or  the  couching  instrument  with  which  he 
moves  away  the  film  from  the  spiritual  eye  ;  figures 
quite  as  unhappy,  when  so  strictly  meant,  as  the  idea 
from  which  their  warrant  is  to  come.  How  is  God  to 
push  or  wield  or  drive  the  truth  ?  Truth  is  nothing. 
How  is  He  to  grasp  or  press  it  home  ?  Spiritually,  as 
you  please  to  view  it,  how  is  He,  in  default  of  His  own 
direct  impact  upon  a  spirit,  to  handle  such  a  nonentity 

13* 


150  A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS. 

as  truth,  and  with  it  touch  and  move.  He  may  make 
men  preach  better,  and  write  clearer,  but  that  is  not  the 
thing ;  where  does  that  power  impinge  that  makes  like 
truth  melt  at  one  time,  when  it  hardens  at  another  ? 
Not  upon  the  truth ;  for  truth  is  truth ;  the  same  (if  the 
same  truth)  at  one  time  as  another ;  not  sharper,  not 
stronger,  not  sweeter ;  incapable  of  borrowing  energy ; 
no,  not  upon  the  truth,  but  directly  upon  the  heart  itself. 
The  Spirit  that  had  impact  on  a  Spirit  in  creating,  had 
impact  on  it,  still,  in  creating  it  anew.  He  comes  di- 
rectly up  and  opens  the  heart,  that  the  truth  may  shine 
in,  and  so,  only,  in  a  metonymical  sense,  gives  power  to 
the  truth.  He  uses  His  own  genial  energy,  and  melts 
the  heart,  that  the  truth  may  pierce  and  enter,  and  so, 
only,  metonymically,  is  the  truth  "  the  sword  of  the 
Spirit." 

This  is  the  spirit  opening  our  eyes  to  the  truth.  But 
now,  too,  we  are  ready  to  see  how  it  is  that  the  truth 
opens  our  eyes — how,  precisely,  the  truth  is  a  means  of 
sanctification.  We  are  satisfied  that  in  this  matter  the 
minds  of  men  have  suffered  themselves  to  be  unnecessa- 
rily bewildered. 

All  living  creatures  grow  by  the  exercise  of  their  own 
faculties.  It  seems  a  law  of  the  universe.  A  tree  grows 
only  when  the  mouths  in  its  roots  are  drinking,  and  the 
veins  in  its  boughs  are  running,  and  the  lungs  in  its 
leaves  are  playing.  An  animal  grows  only  with  the 
action  of  its  nerves  and  glands  and  muscles.  More 
than  this,  it  is  by  peculiar  exercise  of  various  organs, 
that  it  grows  well,  if  sick,  or  sick,  if  well.  So,  precisely, 
with  a  living  spirit.  It  grows  by  exercise  :  whether 
stronger,  or  holier,  or  more  depraved. 

Adaai  was  born  in  depravity  by  an  exercise,  i.  e.,  by 


A  SPUillOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS.  151 

a  sin.  He  grew  in  depravity  by  exercise  in  sinning/ 
If  saved,  he  was  born  in  holiness  by  an  exercise,  i.  e., 
by  faith,  and  he  grew  in  holiness  by  exercise  in  faith. 
This  will  explain  how  truth  operates.  The  Holy  Spirit, 
always  moving  more  or  less  upon  the  hearts  of  men, 
moves  upon  a  heart  that  is  reading,  or  hearing,  or  think- 
ing of  serious  truth.  That  influence  opens  the  heart,  and 
the  truth  shines  in  a  little,  at  first  only  in  a  common 
way ;  and  the  heart  exercises  itself  in  seeing,  and  feel- 
ing, and,  perhaps,  admiring  the  truth.  The  Spirit,  in  the 
very  act  of  that  exercise,  opens  it  still  more,  and  moves 
it  still  higher,  and  so  on  from  act  to  act,  till  saving  in- 
fluence begins  and  the  heart  is  born  again ;  and  then 
on  from  act  to  act,  the  heart,  under  the  influence  of  the 
Spirit,  still  "  exercising  itself  unto  godliness."^ 

Two  things  are  then  necessary  in  sanctification,  ac- 
cording to  the  law  by  which  God  has  chosen  to  bless 
us;  (1)  The  Spirit  to  move  upon  the  heart,  and  (2) 
the  truth  to  give  it  exercise.  If  the  Spirit  be  there,  and 
not  the  truth,  God  may,  indeed,  waive  his  law  and  sanc- 
tify, as  in  the  case  of  infants ;  or  call  into  Hfe,  as  He 
did  the  trees  of  Paradise,  full  grown  at  once,  but  not  by 
His  common  rule  of  working,  which  asks  exercise,  and, 
therefore,  truth,  as  the  only  thing  that  can  give  exercise 
to  mind.  If  the  truth  is  there,  and  not  the  Spirit,  there 
will  be  no  sanctification,  any  more  than  growth  in  a 
tree,  if  the  principle  of  life  be  stricken  from  it.  If  much 
truth  be  there,  and  strong  truth,  it  is  better  than  weak, 
or  little  truth,  because  a  better  opportunity  for  the  Spirit 

»  Of  course,  it  is  not  meant  by  this,  that  sin  consists  of  nothing  but 
exercise  (i.  e.,  voluntary  act),  but  that  evil  disposition,  that  other  part  of 
sin,  grows  in  the  heart  by  exercise. 

b  1  Tim.  iv.  7. 


152  A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS. 

in  moving  the  heart  to  exercise.  It  will  be  seen,  then, 
in  how  modified  a  way  truth  is  an  instrument  in  sanc- 
tification. 

Still,  it  will  be  argued,  it  "  obscures  the  work  of  the 
Spirit ;"  and  that,  when  its  necessity  is  not  absolute  in 
the  nature  of  things ;  for  the  Spirit  might  stand  out 
alone  and  sanctify  without  it.  We  reply  by  denying 
the  charge.  It  does  not  obscure,  but  manifests  the 
Spirit. 

Why  was  not  the  world  created  in  an  instant,  instead 
of  in  six  days  ?  Because,  as  it  rose  in  successive  wonder 
and  beauty,  the  roar  of  an  awakening  chaos — the  out- 
bursting  of  the  light — the  gathering  of  the  waters — the 
garnishing  of  the  heavens — the  clothing  of  the  earth — 
the  unveiling  of  the  stars — the  teeming  births  of  the  sea 
and  of  the  land,  and  then  the  Creator's  finger  upon  a 
human  spirit,  moulding  its  ethereal  essence,  and  linking 
it  in  strange  union  with  the  dust,  were  a  far  richer 
lesson  to  the  universe  in  the  glory  of  God  than  had  the 
world  stood  up  at  once  created. 

Again,  another  question :  Easy  as  working  is  to  God, 
there  is  no  waste  of  work ;  cheap  as  being  is  to  God, 
there  is  no  waste  of  being.  Why  then  does  not  a  grand 
frugality  of  both  reign  through  His  dominions,  casting 
out  the  long  chain  of  intermediate  causes  with  which 
His  working  is  delayed,  and  emptying  away  the  mass 
of  subordinate  means  by  which  the  universe  is  crowded 
full?  Why?  Because  He  knows  that  whereas  no  man 
can  see  him  personally,  these  declare  Him.  To  speak 
and  have  it  done,  disdaining  any  thing  between  the  word 
and  the  w^ork,  w^ould  be.  noble  in  a  society  of  gods,  but 
delay  and  detail  are  necessary  in  the  lessons  of  finite 
men.     The  drama  of  Providence  He  will  not  shorten ; 


A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS.  153 

the  frame-work  of  means  must  stand  as  it  is ;  for  though 
briefer  work  might  be  more  natural  to  God,  precisely 
this  work  is  most  useful  for  His  creatures. 

So  of  sanctification.  To  sanctify  by  natural  power, 
rather  than  in  the  train  of  the  heart's  own  exercise  in 
seeing  and  loving  the  truth,  while  it  would  not  rid  us  of 
the  temptation  of  putting  aside  the  Spirit,  or  of  imagin- 
ing that  the  flashing  in  of  light,  and  a  sudden  effort  of 
the  will,  were  all  the  power  that  wrought  each  succes- 
sive change  in  us  ;  would  rob  us  of  those  long-continued, 
happily-presented,  leisurely-regarded,  manifestations  of 
Him  that  we  have,  as  "  the  flesh  lusteth  against  the 
spirit,  and  the  spirit  against  the  flesh." 

Exhausted  so  far,  objection  becomes  wearisome. 
Two  points  remain,  that  we  do  not  like  to  omit ;  but  the 
statement  and  reply  shall  be  as  brief  as  they  can  be 
made. 

(a.)  Why  gospel  truth  1  Why  does  God  tempt  men 
to  imagine  some  mystic  powder  in  the  truth  itself,  by 
choosing  a  certain  kind  of  truth  as  positively  essential 
to  salvation  ?  Take  a  pagan,  let  him  see  the  folly  of  his 
worship,  and  throw  away  his  idols ;  why  may  not  the 
Spirit,  in  default  of  any  news  of  Christ,  open  his  mind 
to  common  moral  truth,  and  save  him?  It  is  not  so 
powerful  or  melting  as  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus ;  but 
why  may  not  the  w^eaker  truth  sometimes  sanctify? 

Because  the  temptation  of  this  plan  would  be  worse 
than  the  temptation  of  the  other.  Because  a  man  awak- 
ened simply  by  moral  truth,  i.  e.,  by  the  law  of  God, 
would  be  plunged  at  once  into  the  depths  of  despair. 
Strange  discord  would  be  brought  into  the  heart  born 
again  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  the  brighter  half  of  Chris- 
tian character — peace,  and  joy,  and  hope — would  be 


154  A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS. 

supplied  by  the  blackness  of  darkness  of  remorse  and 
fear  ;  no  sense  of  pardon — no  peace  with  God — no 
motive  of  reward  in  heaven;  a  state  which,  if  tho- 
roughly converted,  the  sufferer  could  not  endure,  but, 
by  a  melancholy  death,  would  fill  the  minds  of  his 
neighbours  with  the  conviction  that  he  had  fallen  under 
some  heavy  curse,  and  with  horror  at  the  thought  of  a 
like  visitation.     This  is  one  reason  on  a  list  of  many. 

{b.)  Why  external  truth?  That  is  the  very  thing 
argued  against  above — an  external,  absolutely  essential 
to  salvation.  The  Holy  Ghost  might  inspire  truth  in 
any  heart,  just  as  well  as  impress  it.  Why  has  God 
ordered  it  so,  that  we  must  write,  and  speak,  and  send, 
so  that  as,  according  to  some,  if  men  withhold  an  exter- 
nal baptism,  an  infant  perishes,  so,  if  we  withhold  an  ex- 
ternal word,  the  heathen  perish  ?  Would  not  the  Spirit's 
work  be  less  obscured,  if  He  carried  the  truth  as  well  as 
used  it? 

Crediting  the  objection  as  it  is  given  in,  without 
affirming  or  denying  that  some  heathen  may  be  saved, 
we  say,  it  makes  the  necessity  of  the  external  word  no 
parallel  case  in  obscuring  the  Spirit,  to  an  external 
Popish  sacrament.  The  first  is  an  intelligible  necessity, 
and  one  growing  out  of  the  nature  of  things,  because,  as 
we  have  seen,  man  has  no  intercourse  with  man,  nor 
God  (naturally)  with  man,  saving  by  the  avenues  of 
sense.  The  last,  if  a  necessity,  is  just  made  such, — for 
a  certain  age,  and  for  no  certain  purpose.  As  to  the 
gift  of  the  truth  at  once  into  the  heart  by  inspiration,  in- 
stead of  its  entering  there  by  teaching,  we  know  not,  if, 
in  the  present  age,  it  ever  happens  so,  but,  if  it  does,  it  is 
no  escape  from  temptation.  It  is  still  truth,  and  truth 
still  liable  to  arrogate  the  work  of  the  Spirit.   Especially, 


A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS.  155 

if  this  mode  became  the  common  one,  and  the  impres- 
siveness  of  miracle  were  lost  from  it,  truth  just  rising  in 
the  heart,  instead  of  being  gathered  in  by  sense,  would 
be,  perhaps,  more  likely  to  share  with  the  heart  the 
honours  of  its  own  impression,  and  forget  the  Spirit,  than 
ordered  as  it  now  is. 

Truth,  then — and  truth  as  a  means — and  truth  as  just 
such  a  means — giving  out  tribute,  as  it  does  so  intelligibly, 
to  the  intelligent  service  of  God,  cannot  be  made  to 
stand  on  the  same  level  with  the  mystic  sacraments,  in 
obscuring  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Serious  objections  to  the  reasoning,  under  each  of  the 
foregoing  heads,  shall  now  come  up  to  be  answered  at 
once  for  the  three. 

The  three  rest  on  one  foundation — the  doctrine  that 
the  design  of  religion  would  be  frustrated,  if,  by  any  of 
its  ordinances,  God  should  directly  tempt  men  away 
from  the  intelligent  service  of  himself. 

1.  Is  this  doctrine  true?  Is  it  not  notorious  that  God 
actually  does  try  the  faith  of  men?  And  may  he  not,  in 
full  memory  of  our  superstition,  still  make  outward 
sacraments  inseparable  from  salvation,  in  order  to  put 
his  people's  faith  in  Christ  and  the  Spirit  to  the  proof? 
If  not,  what  is  the  meaning  of  such  passages  as  these : — 

Gen.  xxii.  1.  "  And  it  came  to  pass,  after  these  things, 
that  God  did  tempt  Abraham." 

2  Chr.  xxxii.  31.  "God  left  him  (Hezekiah)  to  try 
him,  that  he  might  know  all  that  was  in  his  heart." 
Deut.  viii.  2. 

2  Sam.  xxiv.  1.  "  Again  the  anger  of  the  Lord  was 
kindled  against  Israel,  and  he  moved  David  against  them 
to  say,  Go,  number  Israel  and  Judah." 


156  A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS.  ^ 

Job  vii.  18.  "  That  thou  (God)  shouldest  visit  him 
every  morning,  and  try  him  every  moment." 

In  reply,  it  might  be  asked  whether  any  advocate  of 
the  system  that  has  been  opposed,  would  be  willing  to 
stand  by  this,  as  its  grand  benefit,  viz.,  that  it  tries  the 
faith  of  men.  Sacraments,  with  the  powder  in  which  he 
clothes  them,  form  a  most  conspicuous  part  of  his 
religion,  as  the  great  channels  of  grace ;  now,  when  we 
ask  after  some  adequate  good  that  is  to  flow  from 
making  them  such,  will  he  venture  to  say  that  that  good 
is  temptation — the  ordeal  it  secures  for  faith.  Recollect, 
they  are  not  casual  events,  like  the  trial  of  Abraham, 
but  permanent  and  wide-reaching  ordinances  ;  will  he 
stand  to  it  that  temptation  is  benefit  enough  to  make 
them  what  he  says  they  are  ? 

Passing  by,  however,  all  lighter  considerations,  as  has 
been  the  aim  throughout,  let  us  go,  at  once,  to  the  root  of 
the  objection.  To  give  it  its  utmost  weight,  and,  so,  to  ex- 
haust it,  as  far  as  possible,  when  we  come  to  reply,  let 
there  be  added  to  it  a  second,  quite  as  serious,  and  often 
urged  in  independent  form. 

God  knew  that  man  was  superstitious.  Why,  in  the 
infancy  of  the  world,  did  he  ordain  sacrifices  only  to 
have  them  perverted  into  idolatry  ?  When,  for  two 
thousand  years,  they  had  been  perverted,  and  God  was 
about  to  choose  from  a  whole  race  of  abandoned 
heathen  one  nation  for  himself,  why  did  he  deliberately 
renew,  with  more  detail,  and,  so  far,  with  higher  temp- 
tation to  idolatry,  a  circle  of  sacrificial  rites  ]  Lastly, 
and  most  wonderful  of  all,  and  most  conclusive,  it  will 
be  argued,  against  our  attempt  to  settle  what  does  or 
does  not  frustrate  the  design  of  religion — when  the  Jews 


A   SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS.  157 

had  most  shamefully  abused  external  ceremonies  again, 
God  does  not  spare  us  the  temptation,  by  sweeping  away 
the  rites,  but  actually  invents  two  new  ceremonials  for 
the  modern  church.  No  matter,  now,  it  will  be  urged, 
whether  these  new  sacraments  are  mysteriously  efficient, 
or,  like  the  old  sacrament  of  circumcision,  not  so.  Why 
are  they  revived  at  all  ?  Our  whole  argument  will  be 
denounced,  as  having  proved  too  much,  and  charged  in- 
consistency upon  God  for  what  all  parties  grant  he  has 
unquestionably  done,  i.  e.,  for  reviving  forms  of  worship, 
in  which,  notoriously,  temptation  has  been  found  to  turn 
away  from  Christ,  and  from  his  Holy  Spirit. 

With  this  whole  argument  distinctly  in  view,  and 
bowing,  as,  of  course,  we  must,  even  to  its  strongest 
instance, — "  God  tempted  Abraham," — still,  we  answer, 
God  tempteth  no  man.  To  meet  the  charge  of  contra- 
diction, therefore,  it  must  be  shown,  as  it  easily  may  be, 
that  there  are  two  kinds  of  temptation,  one  consistent 
w^ith  the  revealed  purpose  of  rehgion,  the  other  not  so. 

(1.)  Temptation  may  be  a  direct  soliciting  of  the  soul 
to  sin — a  crime  not  to  be  dreamed  of  on  the  part  of 
God.  "  He  cannot  be  tempted  of  evil,  neither  tempteth 
he  any  man ;  but  a  man  is  tempted  when  he  is  drawn 
away  of  his  own  lust  and  enticed."^  This  kind  w^e  do 
not  charge  upon  the  system  of  our  opponents,  only  one 
practically  like  it.  Two  other  kinds  must,  therefore, 
still  be  mentioned. 

(2.)  Temptation  may  be  an  exposure  of  the  soul  to 
sin,  by  institutions  having  no  one  cardinal  advantage 
over  simpler  institutions,  but  having  every  thing  in  them 
to  bewilder  and  invite  mistake — institutions  so  easily 

'  James  i.  13. 
14 


158  A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS. 

misconceived,  that  though  the  mind  of  a  perfect  angel, 
with  however  much  amazement  at  their  conflict  with 
all  the  rest  of  God's  arrangements  for  us,  might  yet 
hold  them  to  their  proper  place,  the  mind  of  a  fallen 
man  could  scarcely  escape  the  open  snare  of  an  idola- 
trous interpretation.  This  is  the  kind  we  have  been 
attacking.  This  is  not  the  kind  that  has  furnished  the 
instances  just  quoted  from  the  Bible.  (3d.)  Temptation 
may  be  an  opportunity  for  the  soul  to  sin,  afl?brded  by 
things  ordered  as  they  are  for  very  great  and  very  evi- 
dent advantage,  and  whose  misconception  must  be 
through  strange  perverseness,  in  the  face  of  a  direct 
and  benevolent  tendency  the  other  way.  Examples  of 
this,  we  grant,  most  cheerfully,  are  found  every  where 
through  all  the  Bible,  in  the  central  and  most  interesting 
parts  of  the  Christian  system.  Precisely  so  the  cross  is 
a  "  stumbling  block,"  and  the  Almighty  sacrifice  Him- 
self "  a  stone  of  stumbling  and  rock  of  ofl^ence."  In  a 
like  sense,  He  who  came  expressly  to  bring  peace  on 
earth  came  not  to  send  peace,  but  a  sword.  So,  too, 
every  single  doctrine  and  ordinance  in  our  religion  (for 
not  one  can  plead  exemption)  has  bitterly  tempted  the 
souls  of  men, — by  known  intention  good,  but,  by  man's 
perversion,  prostitute  to  evil.  Very  different  is  the  case 
with  those  pretended  institutions,  whose  far  more  direct, 
and,  beyond  all  contrast,  less  easily  avoided,  temptation 
is  balanced  by  no  good  intention,  that  any  but  the  most 
minute  and  prejudiced  ingenuity  can  discover  or  devise. 
Emblematic  worship  was,  indeed,  revived  in  the 
family  of  Abraham,  after  it  had  tempted  the  world  for 
two  thousand  years,  and  revived  again  by  Jesus  Christ, 
when  it  had  tempted  worse  for  two  thousand  more; 
but  then  emblematic  worship  bears  immediate  tribute  to 
that  intelligent  service  of  God  for  which  all  religion  is 


A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS.  159 

intended;  and  something  akin  to  emblematic  worship, 
and  liable  to  like  abuses,  is  necessary  to  man.  Truth, 
as  sent  down  from  God,  must  reach  us  through  the 
senses.  This  we  have  seen  long  ago ;  that  as  sense  is 
our  only  link  with  other  minds,  those  whom  God  has 
inspired,  can  tell  us  his  will,  only  through  some  outward 
channel ;  and  only  so  can  we  be  kept  reminded  and  re- 
impressed.  That  channel  may  be  any  system  of  signs, 
conventional  or  natural.  Minute  symbols  may  serve 
us,  as  the  letters  of  an  alphabet,  or  the  sounds  of  a 
voice ;  or  briefer  and  more  comprehensive  symbols,  as 
sacramental  or  sacrificial  rites.  To  say,  then,  that  God 
deliberately  revived  emblematic  worship,  is,  simply,  to 
say  that  he  revived  what  one  prime  necessity  of  the 
soul  demands.  To  say  that  He  revived  it  in  the  face  of 
the  fact  that  it  had  always  been  abused,  is,  simply,  what 
may  be  said  of  any  useful  or  necessary  provision  He 
has  made.  To  say  that  He  revived  it  when  alphabetic 
symbols  or  language  might  have  served  alone,  is,  in  the 
first  place,  to  forget  that  this  method  has  been  abused, 
no  less  than  that, — men  trusting  to  the  word  without  the 
spirit;  and,  in  the  second  place,  that  rites  and  sacra- 
ments have  met  ends  of  impression  and  moral  exercise, 
that  mere  writing  could  never  meet.  To  urge,  as  a  last 
resort,  that  God,  in  degree,  might  have  abated  the  temp- 
tation, by  making  the  sacrament  less  formal  or  less  pro- 
minent, is,  in  fact,  to  forbid  him  to  draw  the  fine  at  all, 
since,  wherever  he  might  draw  it,  the  same  objection 
w^ould  occur.  Religious  externals,  therefore,  in  our 
sense  of  them,  take  their  places  clearly  under  the  third 
kind  of  temptation. 

Nor  can  any  of  the  scattered  instances  quoted  above, 
or,  indeed,  any  thing  that  shall  be,  by   both  parties, 


160  A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS. 

confessed  to  be  from  God,  identify  itself  with  the  second 
kind ;  not  the  tempting  of  Abraham  (to  suffer  the  most 
difficult  case  to  stand  for  all).  Let  it  be  granted,  that 
unbelief  is  a  main  corruption  of  our  nature.  Let  it  be 
granted,  that  a  command  to  kill  his  son,  after  so  glorious 
a  covenant  as  God  had  reiterated  respecting  him  and 
his  seed,  and  after  so  recent  a  promise  that  in  this  very 
Isaac  should  his  seed  be  called,  was  a  sore  trial  to  the 
faith  of  Abraham ;  still,  the  temptation  fails,  in  respect  to 
evil  tendency  on  the  one  side,  and  the  absence  of  good 
design  on  the  other.  Abraham  lived  in  an  age  of  mira- 
cles ;  he  had  spent  a  life  of  strange  interpositions ;  to 
doubt  God  now,  would  have  been  the  height  of  ingrati- 
tude. One  who  had  ushered  in  the  birth  of  his  son  by 
miraculous  signs,  and  who  had  delayed  that  birth  till  it 
became  itself  a  miracle,  might  well  be  trusted  here, 
since,  even  if  the  sacrifice  were  accomplished,  a  word 
from  God  he  knew  would  restore  the  life  that  he  had 
taken.  This,  therefore,  was  the  very  form  that  his  faith 
assumed,  "  accounting  that  God  was  able  to  raise  him 
up  even  from  the  dead,  from  whence  also  he  received 
him  in  a  figure.''^  Such  w^as  the  degree  and  nature  of 
the  temptation, — a  simple  trial  whether  he  v,?ould  trust 
God  in  an  easily  anticipated  and  very  possible  exercise 
of  this  power.  Now,  balanced  against  this,  we  have  a 
general  fact,  and  a  very  obvious  good  intention. 

We  have  the  general  fact,  that  all  that  was  essential, 
in  the  tempting  of  Abraham,  every  believer  is  called 
through  life  to  feel.  Abraham  was  promised  glorious 
posterity  from  Isaac,  and  then  called  to  high  trust  in 
God's  power  in  direct  prospect  of  Isaac's  death.     The 

»  Heb.  xi.  19. 


A  spuraous  design  of  certain  externals.         161 

believer  is  promised  that  all  things  shall  work  together 
for  his  good,  and  then  often  called  deliberately  to  expose 
himself  to  the  most  forbidding  and  seemingly  mischiev- 
ous providences.  The  case  is,  by  no  means,  a  singular 
one ;  Israel,  at  the  waters  of  Meribah,  after  his  glorious 
hopes  in  Egypt, — Hagar,  in  the  wilderness  of  Beersheba, 
after  the  promise  to  Abraham  of  Ishmael's  power, — the 
disciples  at  the  cross  of  Jesus,  after  all'the  prophecies  of 
the  glory  of  his  kingdom,  and  all  men,  who  pass  on  to 
the  fulfilment  of  the  words  of  God,  through  strangely 
adverse  histories,  endure,  in  all  essential  points,  a  kin- 
dred temptation. 

The  case,  thus  associated  with  a  wide  class  of  provi- 
dences, will,  very  readily,  disclose  its  good  intention.  It 
taught  Abraham  a  lesson  of  immediate  reliance  on  God, 
rather  than  on  outward  circumstances.  Jehovah-jireh 
was  the  precious  moral  of  the  whole.  The  same  lesson 
was  taught  at  Meribah,  and  through  all  that  wilderness. 
Means  are  the  mere  servants  of  God,  and  hope  must  be 
graduated,  not  by  their  appearance  of  failure  or  promise, 
but  by  the  word  of  the  Almighty.  To  state  the  moral  in 
the  very  language  of  Moses :  "  He  humbled  thee,  and 
suffered  thee  to  hunger,  and  fed  thee  with  manna  (which 
thou  knewest  not,  neither  did  thy  fathers  know),  that  He 
might  make  thee  know  that  man  doth  not  live  by  bread 
only,  but  by  every  word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the 
mouth  of  the  Lord  doth  man  live."^  Such  was  the  de- 
sign in  Abraham's  case,  to  turn  his  reliance  directly 
upon  God ;  and  the  gracious  issue  of  the  trial  quickly 
cleared  up  every  thing  that  was  perplexing  in  it,  and 
sealed  its  good  intention. 

*  Deut.  viii.  3. 
11* 


162  A   SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS. 

How  different  the  trial  that  must  ensue  upon  giving 
external  things  immediate  efficiency,  or  in  any  sense  in- 
separably linking   them  with  pardon.      The   influence 
must   be    precisely  contrary — to   turn    man's    reliance 
directly  away   from    God.     The   temptation,   in   itself 
totally  different  from  the  other,  would  be  redeemed  by 
no  great  lesson.     Some  honour  might  be  shed  on  the 
sovereignty  of  God,  by  showing  that  man  may  be  saved 
independently  of  means ;  but  casting  away  one  set  of 
means   (faith,  prayer,  &c.)  and  choosing  others  (rites 
and  sacraments),  and  making  these  last  just  as  essential 
in  one  creed,  as  the  first  are  in  ours,  would,  of  course, 
have  nothing  to  do  with  such  a  lesson.   It  might  do  good 
to  show  men  that  God  can  save  them  by  any,  or  difler- 
ent  means,  but  surely  this  is  not  shown  by  a  salvation 
that  attaches  itself  inseparably  to  one.  The  only  possible 
lesson,  as  we  conceive,   that   can  be  asserted  for  the 
system,  is, — that  God  may  save  with  distant  and  inap- 
propriate means — a  lesson  true  as  to  his  power,  but 
most  false  as  to  his  wisdom,  a  wisdom  which  could 
never  deliberately  betray  the  souls  of  men  by  things 
carnal,  instead  of  things  spiritual,  or  even  by  things 
dumb,  instead  of  things  significant,  away  from  the  true 
nature  of  Christ's  salvation.     Thus,  all  unbalanced  by 
good   design,  by  useful  lesson,  or  even  by  humbling, 
mortifying  influence,  we  see  obtruded  upon  us,  as  a  thing 
from  God,  the  naked  snare  ;  of  which  may  be  mentioned 
one  other  fatal  difference  from  the   hard  command  to 
Abraham,  and  the  heavy  curse  at  Meribah,  that  while 
both  these  were  cleared  up  and    reversed,  and    made 
speedily  and  triumphantly  useful  to  the    sufferers,  this 
beclouds  and  bewilders  endlessly,  with  no  dawning  of 
better  light, — a  planet  always  turning  an  evil  phase — a 


A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS.  163 

spell  without  a  talisman — a  puzzle  without  a  key — a  den, 
that  never  sees  the  light,  harbouring,  in  the  very  bosom 
of  our  religion,  the  wildest  excesses  of  man's  only  too 
eager  superstition. 

2.  But  a  second  and  more  formidable  objection  may 
be  framed  out  of  the  resemblance  of  a  sacrament,  in  the 
Popish  sense,  to  any  Bible  miracle,  and  the  alleged  equal 
applicability  of  the  arguments  that  have  been  used,  to 
either  of  the  two. 

One  minister  of  God  fixes  his  eyes  upon  a  man,  and 
at  a  word  heals  his  body ;''  another  minister  of  God 
lays  his  hands  upon  a  man,  and  at  a  word  confirms  his 
spirit.  One  minister  stretches  himself  upon  the  corpse 
of  a  child,  and  raises  it  from  physical  death  ;^  another 
sprinkles  water  upon  the  head  of  a  child,  and  raises  it 
from  spiritual  death.  Both  are  wielding,  instrumentally, 
the  power  of  God.  Where  is  the  difference  as  regards 
the  temptation  of  the  people  1  Moses,  at  the  word  of  the 
Lord,  rears  a  brazen  serpent  upon  a  pole  in  the  camp  of 
Israel,  and  the  bite  of  fiery  serpents  that  are  infesting 
the  camp,  is  cured  by  looking  at  it.  Seven  centuries 
afterward,  the  people  are  burning  incense  before  that 
piece  of  brass  as  their  God.*"  The.apostles  Barnabas  and 
Paul  saw  a  man  at  Lystra,  who  had  been  "  a  cripple 
from  his  mother's  womb ;"  and  Paul,  perceiving  "  that 
he  had  faith  to  be  healed,  said  with  a  loud  voice.  Stand 
upright  on  thy  feet.  And  he  leaped  and  walked.  And 
when  the  people  saw  what  Paul  had  done,  they  lifted  up 
their  voices,  saying.  The  Gods  are  come  down  to  us  in 
the  likeness  of  men.  And  they  called  Barnabas  Jupiter, 
and    Paul,    Mercurius.      Then   the    priest   of   Jupiter, 

-  -     ■  Acts  iii.  4—8.       ^  2  Kings  iv.  34,  35.       •  2  Kings  xviii.  4. 


164  A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS. 

which  was  before  their  city,  brought  oxen  and  garlands 
unto  the  gates,  and  would  have  done  sacrifice  with  the 
people."^  This  is  not  the  only  instance  of  the  kind  that 
Paul's  history  furnishes, — *'  Howbeit,  they  looked  when 
he  should  have  swollen,  or  fallen  down  dead,  suddenly ; 
but  after  they  had  looked  a  great  while,  and  saw  no 
harm  come  to  him,  they  changed  their  minds,  and  said 
that  he  w^as  a  god.'"'  Now  where  is  the  difference,  it 
will  be  asked,  between  this  temptation  and  that  which 
w^e  have  been  trying  to  show  cannot  be  ? 

Difference  enough  radically  to  distinguish  them,  may 
be  stated,  it  is  thought,  in  a  single  sentence.  Miracles 
are  necessary ;  those  mystic  sacraments  are  not  so.  That 
men  must  be  saved  by  faith,  or  sanctified  by  the  truth, 
are  arrangements  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  full  of  tempta- 
tion to  carnal  men,  but  then  they  are  necessary  arrange- 
ments, and,  therefore,  the  fact  of  their  indirectly  tempting, 
loses  its  power  as  an  argument  against  them.  They  are 
necessary.     Now,  so  are  miracles. 

The  design  of  religion  is  to  lead  men  to  the  intelligent 
service  of  God.  First  in  order  of  all  mere  means,  as 
conducive  to  this  design,  is  revelation  ;  and  one  of  the 
next,  as  the  mainstay  ^of  revelation  in  respect  to  its  ex- 
ternal evidence,  is  miracle.  God  first  talked  to  men ; 
and  then,  under  the  hand  of  the  minister  by  whom  He 
spake,  broke  the  laws  of  nature,  and  gave  the  sanction 
of  something  supernatural,  to  prove  that  he  had  talked 
to  them.  Miracle  must  be  the  groundwork  of  all  out- 
w-ard  evidence  for  religious  truth ;  and  testimony  is  of 
value  only  when  it  reaches  back  to  miracle ;  and  that 
miracle,  too,  must   be   an   external  thing.     That  it  is 

"■  Acts  xiv.  8—13.  h  Acts  xxviii.  6. 


A   SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS.  165 

necessary,  therefore,  is  just  as  certain  as  that  a  revela- 
tion is  of  no  value  to  man  until  something  tells  him  that 
it  is  a  revelation. 

We  might  expect,  we  know,  that  God  w^ould  abate 
the  snare  of  miracles  as  much  as  is  consistent  with  his 
plan ;  and  might  predict,  therefore,  facts  like  these  ; — 
that  miracles  would  be  but  temporary ;  that  each  part 
of  revelation  would  be  certified  by  them,  and  then  their 
time  would  end ;  that  some  appeal  to  God,  a  prayer,  or 
an  invocation  of  His  name,  should  be  just  as  apparent  in 
the  miracle,  if  wrought  by  man,  as  the  miracle  itself; 
and  that,  in  case  temptation  did  result,  care  would  be 
taken  to  remove  it ;  as  Hezekiah  did  when  he  "  brake  in 
pieces  the  brazen  serpent;"^  as  Peter  did,  when  he  said, 
"  Ye  men  of  Israel,  why  marvel  ye  at  this  ?  or  why 
look  ye  so  earnestly  on  us,  as  though,  by  our  own  power 
or  holiness,  we  had  made  this  man  to  walk  t"^  or,  as 
Paul  did,  when  he  said  to  the  men  of  Lystra,  "  Sirs,  we 
also  are  men  of  like  passions  wath  you  ?"= 

If  we  turn  now  to  those  mystic  sacraments,  their  case 
is  quite  another  one.  To  say  nothing  of  the  fact,  that 
they  claim  supernatural  power  over  spirit,  i.  e.  of  things 
outward  over  things  inward ;  while  all  other  miracles 
claim  it  only  over  matter,  or  of  externals  over  exter- 
nals ; — to  say  nothing  of  the  fact,  that  they  reach  to  the 
destinies  of  another  world  ; — to  say  nothing  of  the  fact, 
that  they  are  not  grand  exceptions  to  a  general  law, 
occasionally  admitted  for  an  extraordinary  end,  but 
form  a  law  in  themselves,  settled  and  lasting  for 
thousands  of  years  ; — their  great  condemnation  is,  they 

*  2  Kings  xviii.  4.  ^  Acts  iii.  12.  «  Acts  xiv.  15. 


1G6  A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS. 

are  not  necessary.  The  mischief  to  which  they  tend,  is 
not  balanced  by  any  essential  good. 

They  do  not  the  good  even  of  common  miracles, 
granting  that  miracles  were  needed  now.  For  the 
strength  of  a  miracle,  in  the  way  of  proof  for  any  thing, 
is,  of  course,  that  its  result  be  open  to  public  gaze,  or, 
at  least,  that  it  come  in  some  way  or  other  to  the  cog- 
nizance of  men.  But  the  result  of  these  miracles  is 
buried.  The  baptismal  regeneration  of  a  child,  or  the 
delivery  of  a  soul  from  purgatory — the  more  unembar- 
rassed, unconditional,  direct  results  of  sacraments,  trans- 
pire behind  that  curtain  that  hides  us  from  another 
world;  while  sacramental  influences  upon  adult  men 
are  so  w^isely  mixed  up  in  the  theory  of  the  errorist 
with  the  conditions  of  "  compunction  and  faith,"  &c., 
that  when  they  fail,  we  cannot  say,  it  was  the  sacra- 
ment; and  when  they  succeed,  he  cannot  say,  it  was 
not  the  "  faith."  It  is  God  only  that  searcheth  the 
heart.  Certainly  a  poor  subject-matter  for  a  miracle 
(which,  if  it  is  to  be  proof  for  any  thing,  should  make  a 
bold  and  plain  impression  upon  the  people),  the  change 
wrought  by  ghostly  hand,  or  sacred  font,  or  consecrated 
bread,  must  be,  if,  to  see  any  miracle  at  all,  we  must  so 
nicely  dissect  away  what  must  have  been  the  fruit  of 
sacrament  and  faith  together,  from  what  might  have 
been  the  fruit  of  faith  alone. 

3.  But  the  grand  protest  against  our  reasoning  will 
be,  it  is  presumptuous ;  it  dictates  to  God.  What  right 
have  we  to  ask  what  God  might  or  might  not  do  ?  or,  if 
He  makes  an  appointment,  to  say  how  or  how  not  it 
may  be  conditioned  and  arranged  1  This  naked  ques- 
tion is  enough :  What  do  the  words  of  God,  simply  and 
aside  from  prejudice,  direct?     Nay,  is  not  here  a  clue 


A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CEP.TAIN  EXTERNALS.  167 

to  the  much  asked  for  design  of  mystic  sacraments, — 
that  they  are  intended  for  this  very  thing,  i.  e.,  to  be  a 
lesson  to  man  in  the  matter  of  implicit  obedience  ?  All 
God's  other  commandments  bring  reasons  with  them, 
and  may  be  seen  to  work  out  the  honour  of  Himself,  and 
the  benefit  of  His  creature.  Might  it  not  be  well  that 
some  few  should  be,  without  ostensible  reasons  given, 
with  no  other  meaning  in  them  than  this,  that  God  has 
a  right  to  command  and  condition,  sovereignly,  as  He 
pleases?  Is  not  "the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and 
evil,"*  in  point,  as  an  example  of  some  such  design  ?  It 
was  an  external.  It  was  made  "  directly  efficient"  upon 
the  soul,  in  bringing  ruin,  and  "  absolutely  essential," 
negatively,  as  respects  salvation ;  that  is  to  say,  refrain- 
ing from  it,  though  a  mere  outward  thing,  was  essential 
to  spiritual  life.  Yet,  to  teach  the  lesson  of  his  own 
sovereignty,  God  ordained  it ;  and  why  not  a  kindred 
sacrament  at  the  present  day  ? 

Now,  in  reply,  as  to  the  two  foundation  sentences  of 
all  this,  "  Man  has  no  right  to  ask,  what  God  might,  or 
might  not  do,"  but,  "  What  do  His  w^ords,  simply  and 
aside  from  prejudice,  direct;"  we  think  argument,  long 
since  gone  into,  shows,  pretty  conclusively,  that  the  two 
do  not  agree.  Man  cannot,  simply  and  without  preju- 
dice, find  what  God's  words  direct,  without  asking  what 
He  might  or  might  not  do.  Christ  bids  us  "  hate" 
"  father  and  mother,"^  and  tells  us  he  came  not  to  send 
peace,  but  a  sword.''  In  either  case,  cautious  and  reve- 
rent thought  of  what  he  might  or  might  not  do,  is  a 
thing  of  course.  To  say  that  a  reader  may  indulge  it, 
is  half  untrue ;  he  must,  and  ivilU  by  one  of  the  most 

*  Gen.  iii.  »>  Luke  xiv.  26.  «  Matt.  x.  34. 


168  A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS. 

imperative  of  all  mental  necessities.  The  charge  of 
presumption  may  lie  against  it,  just,  precisely,  when  it 
may  against  any  other  laws  of  reading,  i.  e.,  when  they 
miss  their  aim,  or  are  pressed  too  far. 

As  to  the  idea,  that  a  lesson  in  implicit  obedience  is 
the  great  design  of  making  baptism  and  other  rites  ab- 
solute terms  of  pardon,  it  would  be  plausible  enough,  if, 
in  the  opinion  of  those  who  might  advance  it,  the  good 
of  the  sacrament  were  at  all  proportioned  to  any  one's 
implicit  obedience  in  it.  That  would  be  coming  near 
our  own  ground.  It  is  not  proportioned  to  the  obe- 
dience of  the  subject;  for  he  maybe  an  infant,  or  a 
man  in  purgatory.  It  is  not  proportioned  to  the  obe- 
dience of  the  actor,  for  he  may  be  a  graceless  hypocrite, 
and  yet,  as  we,  and  they,  and  all,  admit,  his  administra- 
tions may  be  valid.  No,  if  men  were  "  washed,  and 
justified,  and  sanctified,"  under  ordinances,  in  any  pro- 
portion to  their  implicit,  resigned  obedience,  under  them, 
or  to  any  other  holy  exercise  or  grace,  and  not  by  the 
external  itself,  as  appointed  of  God,  that  would  be  more 
our  doctrine,  than  the  one  we  are  controverting. 

And,  as  to  the  tree  of  knowledge  in  the  garden  of 
Eden,  we  are  happy  to  close  this  chapter,  by  leaving  on 
the  reader's  mind  the  points  of  difference  between  sacra- 
ments in  the  Popish  sense,  and  this,  the  thing  ostensibly, 
perhaps,  most  like  them  of  any  thing  recorded  as  real, 
in  the  word  of  God. 

Of  course,  it  was  an  external,  as  they  are.  Of  course, 
it  had  a  decisive  bearing  on  eternal  life,  as  they  profess 
to  have.  Of  course,  that  bearing  was  direct  and  prompt ; 
the  moment  Adam  ate,  he  died ;  just  as  the  moment  the 
infant  is  baptized,  it  lives.  So  we  seem  to  have  all  that 
our  opponents  ask,  and  all  that  will  crush  our  argument, 


A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS.  169 

i.  e.,  an  external,  linked  inseparably  with  the  question  of 
life,  or  death.     Here,  however,  the  resemblance  ends. 

The  tree  of  knowledge  might  have  been  (so  far  as 
any  principle  is  involved),  and,  probably,  was,  only  a 
natural  means  ;*  any  tree  in  the  garden  might  have  an- 
swered just  as  well.  It  could  work  no  mischief  in  itself. 
Had  Adam  eaten  of  its  fruit  by  accident,  we  have  no 
reason  to  believe  it  would  have  done  him  harm.  It  was 
just  an  object  singled  out  by  God,  to  try  the  obedience 
of  our  parents  with,  and  the  wrong  decision  of  a  tempted 
mind  in  them,  and  no  poison  in  its  fruit,  began  and  ended 
the  work  of  death.  Adam  was  cursed,  just  in  proportion 
as  the  sin,  bred  in  him,  deserved,  and  might  have  been 
cursed  the  same  before  any  object  that  God  might  have 
chosen  to  forbid. 

Here,  then,  precisely,  is  the  difference:  the  Papist 
will  not  say,  it  is  not  the  baptism,  but  the  faith.  We 
will  say,  it  is  not  the  baptism,  but  the  faith.  Both  will 
say,  it  was  not  the  apple,  but  the  sin.  Then,  to  which 
party  the  force  of  the  example  belongs,  is  evident  at 
once. 

The  point  of  seeming  resemblance  the  other  way  was 
that  the  tree  was  inseparable  from  death,  just  as  the 
mystic  sacrament  is  said  to  be  from  life.  But  that  in- 
separableness  was  of  a  natural  kind  in  the  way  of 
templing  and  discipline ;  this,  of  a  supernatural  kind,  in 
the  way  of  divine  and  mystic  virtue.  If  it  be  asked, 
why  a  "  tree  of  knowledge"  at  all  1  why  not  leave  Adam 
to  choose,  (so  to  speak,)  his  own  sin  ?     We  answer, 

*  See,  in  the  different  commentaries,  the  usual  arguments',  to  show  that 
neither  this,  nor  the  "  tree  of  life,"  were  any  thing  but  symbolic  sacra- 
ments, or  had  in  them  any  inherent  virtue,  even  for  physical  life,  or 
death. 

15 


170  A  SPURIOUS  DESIGN  OF  CERTAIN  EXTERNALS. 

because  the  arrangement  bore  upon  the  great  design  of 
religion,  "  the  intelhgent  service  of  God ;"  the  universe 
would  have  lost  a  lesson  in  the  mingled  littleness  and 
enormous  folly  of  sin,  which  no  other  arrangement  could 
have  furnished — millions  of  spirits  cast  into  eternal 
chains  (whether  by  transmitted  guilt,  or  by  natural  con- 
sequence, need  not  be  debated),  to  gratify  the  desire  of 
one,  after  an  object  as  trivial,  in  itself,  as  any  that  God 
could  have  chosen  to  prohibit. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNION,  ARGUED  FROM 
THE  DESIGN  OF  AN  EXTERNAL  CHURCH. 

The  last  chapter  has  proved  that  no  external  can  be 
directly  efficient,  or  absolutely  essential  to  salvation,  the 
argument  itself  making  it  appear  what  was  meant  by 
direct  efficiency,  on  the  one  hand,  and  absolute  necessity, 
on  the  other.  Till,  therefore,  some  third  design  of  ex- 
ternals is  imagined,  we  are  shut  up  to  the  first: — The 
sole  design  of  externals  is  to  teach  (i.  e.  instruct  and 
discipline)  in  the  service  of  God ;  and  then,  too,  looking 
at  one  external  separately, — The  sole  design  of  an  ex- 
ternal church  is  to  teach  (instruct  and  discipline)  in  the 
service  of  God. 

It  is  our  purpose  now,  from  this  design  of  an  external 
church,  to  argue  the  True  Doctrine  of  Church  Commu- 
nion. 

Four  doctrines  have  been  proposed  : — 

I.  There  is  a  visible  church,  conformed  to  a  certain 
primitive  model,  beyond  the  pale  of  which  there  is  no 
salvation,  and,  therefore,  no  rights  or  duties  of  church 
communion. 

II.  There  is  a  visible  church,  conformed  to  a  certain 
primitive  model,  beyond  the  pale  of  which  there  is  no 
church,  and,  therefore,  no  rights  or  duties  of  church  com- 
munion. 


172  THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNION. 

III.  The  visible  church  is  made  up  of  various 
branches,  between  which  there  are  certain  rights  and 
duties  of  church  communion. 

IV.  The  visible  church  is  made  up  of  various 
branches,  between  which  there  are,  not  only,  certain 
rights  and  duties  of  church  communion,  but  an  interest 
and  an  obligation  to  come  together  into  one,  upon  some 
liberal  and  general  platform. 

I.  There  is  a  visible  church,  conformed  to  a  certain 
primitive  model,  beyond  the  pale  of  v\^hich  there  is  no 
salvation,  and,  therefore,  no  right  or  duties  of  church 
communion. 

This  doctrine  cannot  be  the  true  one,  because  it 
teaches,  that  without  external  membership  in  a  church,  a 
man  is  not  saved,  whereas,  "  no  external  can  be  abso- 
lutely essential  to  salvation." 

It  may  be  said.  The  case  is  an  exception  to  the 
general  rule ;  it  is  replied,  the  argument  that  esta- 
blished the  rule,  admitted  no  exception. 

It  may  be  said,  One  exception  must  be  admitted.  The 
truth  is  absolutely  necessary  to  the  salvation  of  adults ; 
and  externals  are  absolutely  necessary  to  convey  the 
truth ;  it  is  replied,  the  case  is  no  exception.  The  propo- 
sition, external  things  are  absolutely  necessary  to  salva- 
tion, or,  some  external  is  absolutely  necessary,  is  by  no 
means  at  variance  with  the  proposition,  no  external  is 
absolutely  necessary.  The  first  is  a  statement  of  the 
natural  fact,  that,  constituted  as  we  are,  w^e  cannot  dis- 
pense wdth  the  intelligence  in  religion  brought  to  us  by 
external  sense  ;  the  last  is  a  statement  of  the  fact,  that  no 
one  object  of  sense,  or  set  of  objects,  has  been  supernatu- 
rally  or  Providentially  erected  into  a  condition,  sine  qua 
71071,  of  salvation. 


THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNION.  173 

Externals  may  be  essential  in  an  intelligible  way,  to 
convey  the  truth,  but  no  one  external  is  essential.  And 
though  that  one  external,  the  church,  embodies  in  itself 
a  whole  circle  of  religious  means,  so  that  most  of  God's 
people  are  converted  by  its  labour,  still  it  does  not 
follow  that  all  are,  or  that  a  man,  not  in  the  church,  may 
not  hand  the  Bible,  or  give  the  word,  or  send  the  tract 
that  leads  to  a  soul's  conversion. 

Besides,  the  doctrine  condemned  is  not,  that  there  is 
no  salvation  without  the  church,  but  no  salvation  with- 
out jomzT?^  the  church,  making  that  narrow  external — 
membership  in  a  church,  and  that,  too,  membership  in 
one  particular  body,  claiming  that  name,  in  contra- 
distinction to  every  other,  absolutely  essential  to  sal- 
vation. 

And,  as  it  is  not  true  that  a  man  must  join  a  certain 
church  to  be  saved  ;  so  neither  is  it  true  that  a  man  will 
join  a  certain  church,  if  saved ; — another  form  of  natural 
necessity  that  may  be  pleaded  for  the  doctrine. 

Christ,  we  grant,  has  framed  a  church ;  and  Christ, 
by  clear  precept,  has  bound  every  soul  to  join  it.  Christ, 
we  grant,  has  framed  a  church  after  a  certain  model ; 
and  Christ,  by  inferred  precept,  has  bound  every  soul  to 
join  a  church  after  that  model.  In  any  common  circum- 
stances, he  who  joins  no  church,  errs,  and  so  does  he 
who  joins  one  not  duly  modelled.  But  then  there  is  no 
manner  of  foothold  here  for  the  doctrine  that  no  man 
will  err  so,  if  saved. 

Error  is  of  two  kinds,  practical  and  speculative.  In 
practical  error,  as,  for  example,  in  theft  or  drunkenness, 
a  man,  if  he  is  saved,  will  not  wilfully  persist;  so  that  it 
becomes   true,   that  "drunkards  shall  not  inherit   the 

15* 


174  THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNION. 

kingdom  of  God,"^  or  that  there  is  a  limit  of  common 
honesty,  "  beyond  the  pale  of  which  there  can  be  no 
salvation,  and,  therefore,  no  rights  or  duties  of  church 
communion."  But  speculative  error  is  a  thing  widely 
different.  It  is  sin;  but  do  Christians  never  sin?  It 
cannot  be  directly  wilful  in  its  maintenance,  and,  there- 
fore, Christians  may  persist  in  it  till  their  dying  day.  For 
it  is  supposed,  the  best  advocates  of  the  doctrine  under 
review  will  confess,  as  cheerfully  as  we  will,  that  good 
men  may  fall  into  many  speculative  errors,  and  that  no 
man.  Christian  or  unconverted,  has  a  perfectly  unsullied 
creed,  at  any  one  moment  of  his  history. 

Now,  it  is  speculative  error  that  breaks  up  the  church 
into  branches.  Error  in  pure  doctrine,  our  opponents 
confess,  may  exist  among  good  men;  but  then,  they  say, 
it  must  not  divide  the  church.  Error  in  church  order, 
in  the  nature  of  things,  must  divide  the  church ;  there- 
fore, they  say,  it  may  not  exist  among  good  men.  But 
both. are  speculative  error,  yes,  and  error  in  church 
order  is  less  culpable  than  error  in  pure  doctrine.  Doc- 
trine, being  an  internal  thing,  appeals  to  native  con- 
science ;  order,  being  an  external,  never  can.  Doctrine 
may  carry  with  it  the  witness  of  the  Spirit,  w^hich  will 
serve  the  most  unlettered  in  lieu  of  outward  evidence ; 
order,  in  its  own  nature,  never  may.  Doctrine  is  dwelt 
upon  in  the  Bible,  and  turned  over  in  many  shapes,  and 
is  linked  together  by  natural  connexions ;  order  is  briefly 
noticed,  and  stands  alone.  To  confess  false  doctrine, 
then,  and  give  over  to  reprobation  for  a  mistake  in  order, 
is  monstrously  absurd. 

*  1  Cor.  vi.  10. 


THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNION.  175 

Only  natural  necessity,  it  will  be  remembered,  is  the 
plea  that  we  have  been  meeting.  The  moment  any 
thing  supernatural  is  objected,  as,  for  instance,  the 
sacraments,  as  being  only  found  in  the  church,  so  that 
a  man  must  join  it  to  be  saved,  we  are  thrown  back 
again  upon  our  general  position.  It  cannot  be  true,  that 
without  external  membership  in  a  certain  church,  a  man 
is  not  saved,  because,  "  No  external  can  be  directly  effi- 
cient, or  absolutely  essential,  to  salvation." 

II.  There  is  a  visible  church,  conformed  to  a  certain 
primitive  model,  beyond  the  pale  of  which  there  is  no 
church,  and,  therefore,  no  rights  or  duties  of  church 
communion. 

Here  are  two  unchurching  phrases, — "  no  church," 
and  "  no  rights  or  duties  of  church  communion."  The 
last  is  the  important  one ;  the  first  has  no  significance, 
as  it  stands  alone. 

A  common  argument,  to  establish  the  first,  is  essen- 
tially as  follows : — Jesus  Christ  framed  a  certain  orga- 
nization of  men,  and  called  it  The  Church ;  therefore  a 
different  organization  of  men,  whatever  else  it  may  be, 
is  not  The  Church,  or  any  part  of  it. 

Now,  the  premises  are  sound ;  and,  if  they  be  counted 
on  all  hands  as  fixing  for  us  a  strict  definition,  the  con- 
clusion is  a  perfect  truism.  The  moment  it  is  agreed, 
by  consent  of  parties,  that  precisely  that  thing,  in  form 
and  order,  that  Christ  called  The  Church,  shall  still  bear 
the  name,  and  that  nothing  else  shall,  then,  certainly,  "  a 
different  organization  is  not  The  Church,  or  any  part  of 
it."  But,  then,  this  is  no  argument,  but  only  the  state- 
ment and  restatement  of  a  definition. 

If  it  be  asked,  Would  not  such  a  strict  definition  be 
the  right  one  ?  it  is  answered,  certainly,  if  all  will  agree 


176  THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNION. 

on  it ;  and  then  it  would  be  perfectly  right  for  each  man 
to  pronounce  his  own  religious  body  The  Church  (if  he 
believes  it  to  be  of  primitive  model),  and  to  find  some 
other  name  for  all  the  rest.  If  it  be  further  asked,  But 
is  not  the  word  so  confined  in  the  New  Testament  ?  we 
answer,  certainly,  it  is.  Aside  from  other  uses,  which 
are  matters  of  indifference  here,  the  apostles  applied  it 
to  one  body,  framed  in  one  way.  But,  then,  how  else 
could  they  apply  it  ?  The  infant  society  was  yet  one, 
no  varieties  of  organization  having  occurred,  to  divide 
the  name.  If  it  be  asked.  Ought  it  not  to  be  confined  to 
one  1  we  answer,  that  is  a  question  for  philologists  and 
grammarians.  Did  not  Christ  mean  it  to  be  applied  but 
to  one?  We  are  not  aware  that  the  use  of  words  is  a 
matter  that  He  aimed  to  settle.  Has  it  not  been  con- 
fined to  one?  Certainly  not;  for  why,  then,  the  com- 
plaint, that  it  has  been  applied  to  several? 

Turn  the  thing  over  as  we  will,  the  question  of 
church  or  no  church,  canvassed  in  this  naked  form,  is 
no  question.  It  becomes  a  question,  only  when  linked 
in  with  another,  thus :  Is  a  certain  body  no  church,  in 
the  sense,  that  we  may  not  hold  communion  with  it? 
The  name  is  a  matter  of  human  convention ;  the  privi- 
lege, of  divine  command. 

It  makes  no  difference  to  us,  if  pious  men  call  our  re- 
ligious society  no  church  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  case  it  is 
agreed,  that  that  only  shall  be  called  His  church,  that  is 
after  the  model  that  he  gave ;  for  we  know  they  must 
think  their  society  that  one,  just  as  we  think  that  ours 
is.  But  it  makes  great  difference  to  us,  if  they  refuse 
fellowship  with  us,  or  if  we  are  to  be  bound  to  refuse 
fellowship  with  them. 

The  vitality  of  the  question,  then,  whether  the  doc- 


THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNION.  177 

trine,  above  set  down,  be  the  true  one,  is  this ;  Ought  a 
body  of  professing  Christians,  organized  after  the  primi- 
tive model,  to  refuse  communion  with  a  body  organized 
differently  ? 

Communion  is  of  three  kinds ;  invisible  communion, 
or  the  communion  of  truly  pious  men,  in  the  gifts  of  the 
Holy  Ghost;  private  communion,  or  the  communion  of 
apparently  pious  men,  in  common  Christian  intercourse ; 
and  church  communion,  or  the  communion  of  profes- 
sedly pious  men,  in  certain  public  ordinances.  The 
first,  it  is  impossible  to  refuse  ;  God  regulates  it ;  and 
finds  its  subjects,  as  we  have  seen,  in  no  one  external 
church.  The  second,  it  is  absurd  to  refuse ;  for  piety 
must  respect  piety,  across  any  church  lines.  The  last 
must  be  the  thing  in  question :  Ought  not  a  body,  that 
feels  itself  to  be  the  truly  primitive  church,  to  refuse  ex- 
ternal church  communion  with  one  after  another  model  ? 
An  arrogation,  let  it  be  granted,  at  the  worst,  of  a  much 
milder  kind  than  any  these  chapters  have  yet  considered; 
making  externals  bear  upon  externals,  irregularity  in  ex- 
ternal order  suffering  the  forfeit  only  of  external  privilege. 

Now,  there  never  was  a  question  that  appealed  more 
directly  to  the  "  principle  of  design."  New  Testament 
example  will  do  nothing  for  it ;  for  Peter  and  Paul 
knew  nothing  of  any  Christian  society  but  their  own. 
The  divisions  they  denounced,  were  in  doctrine,  and 
had  not  gone  to  the  length  of  separate  organization. 
New^  Testament  precept  will  do  as  little.  It  tells  us 
how  to  deal  with  ministers  of  another  faith, — "  Though 
we,  or  an  angel  from  heaven,  preach  any  other  gospel, 
than  that  which  w^e  have  preached  unto  you,  let  him  be 
anathema;"^  but  nowhere  how  to  deal  wdih  ministers 
»  Gal.  i.  8. 


178  THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNION.- 

of  another  church.  We  are  not  aware,  that  any  one 
has  ventured  to  show  a  passage,  as  speaking  at  all  upon 
the  matter. 

What,  then,  is  the  design  of  the  church  ?  To  teach 
(i.  e.,  instruct  and  discipline)  in  the  service  of  God,  to 
more  advantage,  by  the  union  of  believers. 

What  would  be  the  result  of  the  unchurching  rule? 
Speculative  error,  we  have  seen,  must  be  endless,  and, 
especially,  in  the  detail  of  external  order,  where  so  small 
a  book  as  the  Testament  treats  of  it,  and  so  small  a  part 
of  that.  Each  point,  in  the  detail,  would  be  subject- 
matter  for  mistake — each  sacrament,  each  rule,  each 
office;  so  that,  out  of  the  varied  combination  that 
this  would  give,  a  hundred  sects  would  spring,  each 
after  a  model  of  its  own.  And,  then,  if  it  be  the  duty 
of  that  one  which  is  truly  primitive,  to  unchurch  all  the 
rest,  then  all,  believing  themselves  that  one,  would  be, 
mutually,  unchurched,  and  the  result  would  be,  complete 
disunion  of  believers,  to  the  extent  of  this  speculative 
difference.  The  second  doctrine  in  the  list,  therefore, 
cannot  be  the  true  one,  because,  the  design  of  religion 
is,  to  teach  men  in  the  service  of  God,  to  more  advan- 
tage, by  the  union  of  believers. 

If  it  be  said,  God,  who  has  promised  to  be  with  His 
church,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world,  might  interfere  to 
keep  the  mass  of  his  people  right  on  these  external 
points :  the  reply  is,  it  must  be  by  miracle.  Minds  end- 
lessly astray  on  plainer  points,  and  always  right  on 
these,  would  be  kept  so  only  by  supernatural  power.  Now% 
remembering  that  the  design  of  the  church  is  to  teach, 
and  to  teach  men,  and  to  teach  with  reference  to  the 
peculiar  temptations  of  men,  we  ask,  would  God  per- 


THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNION.  179 

form  the  only  miracle  of  the  present  age,  or,  if  you 
choose,  one  of  His  few  only  miracles,  in  tempting  men 
by  exalting  externals,  i.  e.,  while  they  are  left  to  err  in 
much  more  vital,  because  much  more  spiritual  matters, 
interposing,  by  miracle,  or  by  special  Providence,  if  that 
be  a  better  name,  to  keep  them  right  in  the  matter  of  ex- 
ternals ? 

Besides,  God  has  not  interfered.  The  advocates  of 
the  particular  doctrine  before  us,  confess  that  multitudes 
of  good  men  are  out  of  the  true  communion. 

If  it  be  said,  the  true  church  fences  herself  round,  as 
an  act  of  discipline ;  for  as  departure  from  the  primitive 
model  is  an  evil,  making  her  weak  and  crippled  in  her 
teaching,  she  refuses  fellowship  with  those  who  are 
guilty  of  it,  as  a  check  upon  the  evil ;  I  reply,  then  she 
is  a  tempter  of  the  world. 

Some  amount  of  practical  error  she  tolerates,  and  a 
great  amount — in  all  her  members — of  pride,  and  envy- 
ing, and  covetousness.  Yet  they  cripple  her  teaching 
much  more  than  diversity  of  order.  Some  amount  of 
doctrinal  error  she  tolerates,  and  a  great  amount  in 
many  of  her  members — error  on  points  as  vital,  as  the 
grace  of  God,  and  Christ's  atonement.  Why  not  refuse 
fellowship  for  them  ?  How  more  direct  the  lesson  of 
temptation,  that  externals  after  all  are  the  great  thing  for 
the  soul,  than  to  tolerate  a  distorted  faith,  and  draw 
church  lines  fondly  and  indulgently  about  it,  but  to  cut 
off  and  count  alien,  at  once,  for  a  flaw  in  external  order. 

To  sum  up  the  argument,  then,  if  the  object  of  organ- 
izing a  church,  at  all,  be  union,  in  order  to  teaching ; 
this  doctrine  would  thwart  it  in  two  directions.  (1).  It 
would  defeat  union,  by  separating  men,  confessedly  the 


180  THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNION. 

children  of  God,  in  the  noble  efforts  of  gospel  enterprise, 
and  in  the  high  acts  of  gospel  worship  ;  and  (2),  it  would 
defeat  teachhig,  by  tempting  men  precisely  in  the  path 
of  favourite  error,  viz.,  to  believe  that  those  externals 
Vv'hich  are  thus  to  take  the  precedence  of  purity  of  heart 
and  evangelical  behef,  as  a  test  of  fellowship,  must  cer- 
tainly be  the  vital  things  of  religion. 

The  second  doctrine,  therefore,  is  not  the  true  one. 

III.  The  visible  church  is  made  up  of  various 
branches,  between  which  there  are  certain  rights  and 
duties  of  church  communion. 

The  establishment  of  this  doctrine  is  a  result  of  the 
refutation  of  the  last. 

As.  to  the  wording  in  the  early  part  of  the  sentence,  it 
is,  intrinsically,  of  httle  moment.  It  has  been  said,  the 
visible  church  is  made  up  of  various  branches,  because 
we  get  language  by  use,  and  most  writers  seemed  to 
speak  so.  If  the  New  Testament  gives  to  us  no  prece- 
dent, it  is  because  there  w^as  no  chance  for  it ;  the  church 
in  its  infancy  being  homogeneously  organized. 

But  though,  philologically,  we  prefer  speaking  as  we 
have  done ;  theologically,  we  would  be  quite  willing  to 
speak  differently.  For  if  all  would  agree,  it  might  not 
be  as  safe,  but  it  would  be  as  true,  to  say, — The  churchy 
(after  the  primitive  model,)  finds  herself  in  company  with 
a  number  of  other  organized  bodies  of  pious  men,  with 
whom  she  has  certain  rights  and  duties  of  visible  com- 
munion. 

The  really  debateable  and  vital  half  of  the  sentence  is 
the  last, — "  with  whom  she  has,  &c.,"  and  the  truth  of 
that  is  ours  already,  without  any  further  argument.  If 
she  has  no  right  to  refuse  all,  she  is  bound  to  hold  some, 
visible  communion  with  them. 


THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNION.  181 

The  only  question  that  remains  is,  what,  in  manner 
and  extent,  must  that  communion  be? 

It  cannot  be  perfect,  for  that  is  inconsistent  with  the 
idea  of  different  organizations.  Communion  is  perfect 
only  when  the  body  is  homogeneously  one.  How  and 
what  must  it  be,  between  divided  sects  ? 

Now,  a  very  easy,  a  very  adequate,  and,  so  far  on  in 
the  argument,  a  very  evident  rule  of  communion  is,  that 
it  is  the  right  and  duty  of  every  ecclesiastical  body  to 
hold  communion  with  every  other,  in  any  institution  of 
the  church,  in  all  degrees  not  inconsistent  with  the 
design  of  that  particular  institution. 

Let  us  look  separately  at  the  institutions  in  v*'hich 
communion  is  held,  and  draw  out  the  rule  in  detail. 

Communion  is  of  four  kinds:  (1)  Communion  in 
ministry,  (2)  Communion  in  sacraments,  (3)  Commu- 
nion in  membership,  (4)  Communion  in  government. 

(1.)  The  rule  as  to  the  first  would  be,  it  is  the  right 
and  duty  of  every  ecclesiastical  body  to  hold  commu- 
nion in  ministry  with  every  other,  in  all  degrees  not  in- 
consistent with  the  design  of  the  ministry. 

Now,  the  design  of  the  ministry  is,  to  secure  proper 
men  to  instruct  and  discipline  in  the  service  of  God.  In 
this,  three  things  are  vitally  requisite,  by  a  necessity 
growing  out  of  the  nature  of  things  ;  (a.)  piety,  know- 
ledge, and  certain  natural  accomplishments;  (b.)  office, 
singling  out  the  men  for  support  and  acknowledgment 
by  the  people  ;  (c.)  separation  to  that  office,  by  an  ordain- 
ing choice  or  rite. 

Suppose,  therefore,  a  case  occurs — a  minister  of  one 
branch  of  the  church  is  in  a  position  officially  to  serve 
another  branch;  how  far  may  his  labour  be  accepted? 

Recollecting  the  rule,  it  must  be  asked,  how  far  does 
16 


182  THE  TRUE  DOCTPv-INE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNION. 

the  man  meet  the  design  of  the  gospel  ministry?  (c.)  How 
far  was  his  ordination,  in  its  source  and  manner,  a  suffi- 
cient guaranty  of  a  proper  choice?  and  (b.)  how  far  is 
his  office  hke  the  one  the  duties  of  which  he  is  to  do,  so 
as  to  be  a  guaranty  that  he  is  (a)  fit  to  do  thera?  And 
then  it  will  be  the  right  and  duty  of  the  church  to  be 
served  by  him,  in  the  degree  which  the  answer  to  these 
questions  warrants. 

It  is  gratifying  to  observe,  with  how  few  and  widely- 
condemned  exceptions,  the  Protestant  world  use  virtu- 
ally this  very  method.  Whole  classes  of  ministers  are 
disowned  from  all  communion,  but  only  because  their 
ordination  in  some  fatally  apostate  church,  or  by  some 
rule  that  defeats  itself,  is  a  pledge  that  they  are  quite 
unfit  or  unsafe  as  labourers.  Again,  whole  classes  are 
received  into  all  communion,  with  scarcely  more  restric- 
tion than  by  their  own  assemblies,  because  the  doctrine 
on  either  side  is  found  the  same,  and  the  order  but 
slightly  diflferent.  Then,  between  these  extremes  of  total 
corruption,  and  of  near  agreement,  are  all  degrees  of 
acknowledgment  and  interchange. 

If  a  minister  belong  to  a  church,  organized  amiss,  and 
fallen  into  grave  error,  he  may  not  be  settled  as  pastor 
by  a  sounder  body,  nor  go  among  its  people,  officially, 
and  by  their  request,  to  preach  and  govern,  as  he  may 
among  his  own  ;  but  if,  vitally,  his  creed  is  good,  he  may 
safely  be  called  to  preach  those  occasional  sermons,  in 
which  the  peculiarities  of  his  creed  are  not  likely  to 
appear,  or  in  which,  if  they  do,  a  regular  pastor  may  be 
at  hand  to  observe  and  correct  them.  In  fine,  it  should 
be  the  rule,  and  practically  it  will  be,  and  is,  among  all 
good  Protestants,  that  just  so  far  as  the  good  done  by 
the  ministry  of  an  erroneous  church  overbalances  the 


THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNION.  183 

evil,  the  whole  circle  of  purer  churches  should  acknow- 
ledge them  by  using  their  assistance,  and  by  wishing 
them  God  speed  in  their  own  enterprises  among  the 
people.  • 

This  is  all  that  is  vitally  of  any  moment.  Whether 
they  shall  be  acknowledged  specifically,  as  bishops, 
presbyters,  or  deacons,  is  too  often  a  question  of  words. 
Precisely  in  the  Bible  sense  they  may  not  deserve  to  be  ; 
or,  having  given  up  the  Bible  names,  they  may  not  ask 
to  be.  The  grand  question  for  us  to  settle,  as  we  keep 
close  to  the  idea  of  design,  is,  how  far  do  they  meet  the 
design  of  that  office,  be  it  what  it  may,  in  which  they 
have  a  chance  to  serve  us?  It  is  unfortunate  that  they 
bear  ill-chosen  names,  and  still  more  unfortunate  that 
they  bear  office  that  is  even  slightly  changed,  and  they 
should  be  discountenanced  to  the  extent  of  that  misfor- 
tune ;  but  if  they  have  held  fast  to  the  main  idea  of 
the  ministry,  they  must  be  countenanced  to  the  extent 
of  that. 

(2.)  Next  in  order  is,  communion  in  sacraments. 

When  may  we  accredit  the  baptism.s  of  another 
church  ?  and  when,  in  the  absence  of  its  own  ministry, 
may  we  consent  to  baptize  its  children  or  its  members  ? 
When  may  we  sit  down  at  the  Lord's  table,  in  another 
church  ?  and  when  may  we  invite  its  members  to  com- 
mune in  ours  1 

Giving  the  rule  as  directed,  we  answer, — Always, 
when  the  design  of  the  sacrament  has  been  or  will  be 
answered,  in  this  particular  administration  of  it.  And 
by  this  we  do  not  mean,  only  when  the  sacrament  meets 
its  end,  and  its  spiritual  benefit  is  actually  had  through 
the  faith  of  its  recipient ;  for  of  that  we  are  not  to  judge, 
and  no  sacrament  is  to  be  repeated  for  default  of  that. 


184  THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNION. 

But  we  mean  only  when  the  sacrament  is  suitable  to  its 
end,  and  agrees  with  the  design  for  which  God  gave  it. 

For  the  application  of  this  rule,  in  detail,  we  are  not 
furnished :  for  it  will  require  a  separate  treatise  to  esta- 
blish, specifically,  the  design  of  the  sacraments. 

The  mode  of  its  application,  however,  may  be  happily 
illustrated  by  a  question  lately  revived  in  this  country. 
Is  baptism  in  the  Papal  Church  to  be  counted  valid? 

1.  Baptism,  to  meet  its  design,  must  be  by  the  minis- 
try.* The  question,  therefore,  must  be  settled,  whether 
the  Papal  Church  is  pure  enough  to  have  a  ministry. 
2.  Baptism,  to  meet  its  design,  must  be  not  too  far  aside 
from  a  certain  form.  The  question,  therefore,  must  be 
settled,  whether  the  Papists,  by  the  mode  and  meaning 
that  they  give  it,  do  not  turn  it  too  far  aside.  3.  Bap- 
tism, to  meet  its  design,  must  not  be  renounced  by  the 
party  that  has  been  the  subject  of  it.^  The  question, 
therefore,  is  of  weight,  whether  that  party  has  irremov- 
able scruples  in  regard  to  it,  and  desires  the  ordinance 
to  be  administered  anew.  4.  Baptism,  to  meet  its 
design,  need  only  be  pure  in  its  particular  instance  of 
administration,  and  is  not  to  be  implicated  with  corrup- 
tions that  may  exist  in  the  same  church,  in  other 
countries.  The  question,  therefore,  is  of  interest,  how  far 
the  Papal  Church  is  to  be  acknowledged  as  a  unit,  and 
whether  it  is  not  m.uch  broken  up  into  dissenting 
branches,  and  far  purer  in  some  corners  of  the  world 

^  These  points  are  assumed,  as  the  paragraph  is  simply  for  illustration. 

t*  Of  course  it  is  meant  where  a  sounder  administration  of  it  is  in 
view.  To  renounce  a  baptism,  and  ask  it  again  in  the  same  form,  would 
be  absurd,  for  if  it  has  been  wickedly  attended  on,  faith  should  go  back 
even  after  the  lapse  of  years,  and  conform  and  embrace  it,  and  not  be 
baptized  again. 


THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNION.  ]  85 

than  in  others ;  the  Catechism  of  the  Council  of  Trent 
not  being,  as,  in  all  consistency,  it  would  be,  the  uniform 
creed  of  all,  but,  there  actually  being  wide  departure 
from  it  in  purity  and  gospel  light. 

Without  so  far  anticipating  the  minuter  data  with 
which  a  separate  treatise  would  furnish  us,  as  to  attempt 
an  answer  to  the  question  here,  it  is  maintained  that  this 
general  issue  is  the  only  one  to  which  it  can  be  legiti- 
mately brought. 

In  case  of  the  other  sacrament — the  Lord's  Supper — 
the  Baptist  Churches  afford  us  a  singular  example  of  the 
refusal  of  communion. 

In  rejecting  the  baptisms  of  other  churches,  they  are 
unquestionably  consistent.  If,  agreeably  to  their  opinion, 
baptism  is  designed  only  for  adult  believers,  they  are 
right  when  they  say  that  baptism,  administered  in 
infancy,  not  meeting  that  design,  is  no  baptism.  And  if 
the  design  of  baptism  is  only  met  by  immersion,  they  are 
right  in  what  they  say  of  affusion  and  sprinkling.  So 
that  they  cannot  consistently  accredit  any  administration 
of  the  rite  by  other  churches.  But  that  which  has  gotten 
the  name  of  "  dose  commiimon^''  is  by  no  means  as  harm- 
less, nor  as  harmonious  with  a  svstem  of  doctrine  other- 
wise  so  evangelical. 

Their  reasoning,  however,  has  at  least  that  semblance 
of  truth — brevity,  {a.)  The  Lord's  Supper  is  only  for 
those  who  are  members  of  the  church,  {h.)  Baptism, 
being  the  initiatory  rite,  is  necessary  to  church  member- 
ship, (c.)  That  only  is  baptism  which  is  by  immersion 
after  a  profession  of  the  faith,  {d.)  Therefore,  the  Lord's 
Supper  is  only  for  those  who  are  so  baptized.  Certainly 
here  is  something  plausible,  and  yet  every  instinct  of 
piety  revolts  at  the  conclusion.     The  dearer  the  table 

16* 


186  THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNION. 

of  the  Lord,  and  the  more  sacred  that  carefulness  with 
which  it  is  fenced  around,  and  the  stronger  the  tie  that 
binds  one  good  man  to  another,  the  more  abhorrent,  at 
first  thought,  at  least,  must  this  principle  appear.  The 
richest  and  rarest  piety  this  earth  has  ever  seen,  must 
then  keep  aloof  from  communion  in  a  church  one  of  the 
highest  on  the  list  in  evangelical  purity !  Vastly  the 
minority  of  pious  men  must  denounce  the  majority  of 
pious  men,  as  fallen  utterly  short  of  the  outward  covenant 
and  visible  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  that,  too,  in  the 
very  act  of  acknowledging  their  piety,  and,  strange  to 
say,  their  ministry  too,  in  the  performance  of  some  of 
its  highest  functions  !  That  instinct  is  just.  There  must 
be  some  flaw  in  a  train,  leading  to  such  confusion. 

The  flaw  occurs  in  the  second  position  of  the  four. 
(h.)  Baptism,  being  the  initiatory  rite,  is  necessary  to 
church  membership.  It  is  the  initiatory  rite,  and  yet  is 
no  more  necessary  to  church  membership,  than  it  is  to 
salvation.  The  proof  of  this,  however,  will  come  best 
under  the  next  head. 

(3.)  Communion  in  membership. 

Rule. — It  is  the  right,  and  duty,  of  every  ecclesias- 
tical body,  to  hold  communion,  in  membership,  with 
every  other,  in  all  degrees  not  inconsistent  with  the 
design  of  membership. 

What  is  the  design  of  church  membership  ?  To  unite 
piety,  for  greater  advantage  in  instruction  and  disci- 
pline. 

What  is  the  great  requisite  of  membership,  then? 
Unquestionably,  piety;  and  no  other  requisite  must  be 
suffered  to  drive  off"  some  of  the  little  piety  in  the  world, 
unless  of  moment  enough  to  overbalance  the  loss,  by  the 
greater  effectiveness  it  gives  the  rest. 


i 


THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNIOxV.  187 

Our  simple  test  of  membership,  then,  is  piety  (the  ap- 
pearance of  it),  and  no  other  will  be  acknowledged,  till 
shown  to  be  by  direct  command  of  scripture,  or  to  be 
inferred,  as  this  has  been,  from  the  higher  principles  of 
the  gospel. 

If  it  be  said,  Baptism  is  the  initiatory  rite,  and  its  ad- 
ministration is,  therefore,  one  test  of  membership ;  it  is 
answered.  Baptism  is  the  regenerating  rite,  and  yet,  its 
administration  is  not  a  test  of  regeneration.  And, 
though  the  two  cases  are  not  precisely  parallel,  baptism 
being  to  membership,  what  it  is  not  at  all  to  regenera- 
tion, that  is,  really  a  part  of  the  process  of  induction, 
still,  it  is  not  the  whole,  nor  at  all  an  absolutely  vital 
part. 

The  first  step  toward  membership,  is  the  vital  one, 
viz.,  admission  by  an  authoritative  vote.  Baptism  is  the 
initiatory  rite,  in  that  a  part  of  its  intention,  as  a  sacra- 
ment, is,  symbolically,  to  declare  that  vote,  and,  cere- 
monially, to  carry  it  out.  Just  so  the  first  step  towards, 
the  ministry,  is  the  vital  one,  viz.,  appointment  by  an 
authoritative  vote.  Imposition  of  hands  is  the  initiatory 
rite,  in  that  the  whole  of  its  intention  is,  symbolically,  to 
declare  that  vote,  and,  ceremonially,  to  carry  it  out. 
Therefore,  as  no  good  Protestant  church,  by  the  voice 
of  its  council,  would  reverse  its  vote,  setting  apart  a  fit 
man  as  a  minister,  simply  because,  when  the  imposition 
of  hands  is  proposed,  he  has  conscientious  scruples,  and 
declines  it;  so  no  good  Protestant  church  ought  to 
reverse  its  vote,  admitting  a  man  as  a  member,  simply 
because,  when  baptism  is  spoken  of,  he  must  decline  it, 
from  conscientious  scruples.  Both,  the  laying  on  of 
hands,  and  the  sprinkling  of  the  water,  are  precepts  of 
Christ;    but   precepts,  the   neglect  of  which,  through 


188  THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNION. 

speculative  er'or,  is  so  much  lighter  an  enormity  than 
a  mistake  of  the  purer  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  that,  to 
cast  out  for  the  first,  and  not  for  the  last,  is  an  idolatrous 
exalting  of  externals,  and  a  direct  snare  to  souls. 

But,  now,  let  us  guard  what  has  been  said.  A  man, 
admitted  to  the  church  without  baptism,  would  not  be  a 
full  member,  and  for  a  very  simple  reason. 

Membership  is  membership,  only  so  far  as  it  holds 
communion.  As  it  is  hy  an  authoritative  act,  so  it  is 
for  an  external  fellowship,  and  it  is  nothing  without  it. 
Of  what  account  would  membership  be,  with  no  part  in 
ministry,  sacraments,  or  government?  Baptism,  there- 
fore, being  one  of  these,  the  man  who,  through  specula- 
tive error,  has  declined  it,  has  impoverished  his  mem- 
bership. This  should  be  borne  in  mind.  The  disap- 
proving eye  of  the  church  should  be  upon  him.  He 
should  be  warned,  that  he  is  living  in  neglect  of  one  of 
his  Saviour's  precepts,  and,  as  soon  as  instruction  and 
exhortation  can  convince  him  he  is  wrong,  his  relation 
to  the  church  should  be  perfected. 

Just  so,  if  a  devotedly  pious  Christian  should  fall  into 
the  Quaker  error,  of  declining  both  the  sacraments;  and, 
though  the  only  privilege  of  membership,  in  his  case, 
would  be,  recognition  by  the  church,  still,  should  he 
ask  it,  we  see  not  but  that  we  must  carry  out  the  prin- 
ciple. If  he  is  disorderly,  in  spreading  his  errors,  let 
him  be  refused,  as  an  act  of  discipline,  and  to  defend  the 
church.  But,  if  not,  let  him  be  admitted.  Piety  is  the 
main  concern.  To  exclude  him,  for  these  mistakes, 
when  we  would  admit  him,  with  much  sadder  mistakes, 
in  the  purer  doctrines  of  his  creed,  is  as  unsafe,  as  it  is 
uncommanded.  Let  him  be  admitted ;  only,  let  the 
care  of  the    church    be   directed,  to  show  him    how, 


THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNION.  189 

unhappily,  his  membership  is  crippled,  and  to  recover 
him  from  an  opinion,  by  which  his  piety  is  so  much 
wronged. 

(4.)  Communion  in  government.  Less  of  this  is 
practicable,  it  is  imagined,  than  in  either  of  the  other 
cases ; — though  we  word  the  rule  as  before. 

The  first  open  result  of  church  difference,  either  in 
faith  or  order,  is  separate  jurisdiction,  and  this  sepa- 
rateness  of  jurisdiction  is  but  little  relieved,  formally, — 
however  much  it  may  be  virtually, — by  the  usual  plans 
of  friendly  intercourse, — for  instance,  by  the  plan  of 
delegated  or  corresponding  members,  in  the  council  of 
a  sister  church,  or,  by  general  convention  of  all  the 
churches,  in  union,  upon  some  plan  of  Christian  en- 
terprise. 

How  liberal  this  necessary  exclusiveness  must  be, 
however,  a  question,  that  may  be  adduced,  will  finely 
illustrate. 

May  a  member,  or,  especially,  a  minister,  who  is  out 
of  the  reach  of  his  own  church,  or  w^io  conceives  a 
church  model  to  be  scriptural,  which  no  existing  body 
possesses,  adopt  and  join  any  evangelical  church, 
most  like  his  own,  within  the  bounds  of  which  it 
may  be  necessary  for  him  to  live?  How  shall  we 
answer? 

Church  government  is,  certainly,  jure  divino,  and 
some  model  of  it,  too ;  for  all  is  of  divine  right,  that  is, 
of  divine  command;  and  that  church  government  ex- 
isted in  primitive  times,  and  that  Christ  framed  it,  and 
that  he  framed  it  harmoniously,  in  a  certain  way,  and 
that  he  meant  it  to  be  kept  harmoniously  one,  and  said 
so,  it  is  hard  not  to  believe.     And  positive  proof  is 


190  THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNION. 

given  below  to  that  effect.^  But,  then,  there  are  two 
kinds  of  precept  in  the  Bible, — natural  and  positive, — 
and  two  kinds  of  divine  right,  springing  from  the  two. 

The  first  must  be  obeyed,  without  any  possible  excep- 
tion ;  for  we  ought  not  to  blaspheme  God,  or  to  hate  our 
enemy,  if  it  were  to  save  us  from  the  most  horrid  death. 
The  right,  then,  of  God  to  our  adoration,  and  of  man  to 
our  benevolence,  is  of  the  most  absolute  and  unyielding 
nature. 

But  the  last  kind  are  altogether  different.     While  the 


^  Phil.  i.  1.  "Paul  and  Timotheus,  to  all  the  saints  in  Christ  Jesus 
which  are  at  Philippi,  with  the  bishops  and  deacons." 

1  Tim.  iii.  1.     "If  a  man  desire  the  office  of  a  bishop,"  &c. 

1  Tim.  iii.  2.  "  A  bishop  must  be  blameless,  the  husband  of  one  v/ife," 
&c. 

Tit.  i.  5-7.  "  For  this  cause  left  I  thee  in  Crete,  that  thou  shouldest 
set  in  order  the  things  that  are  wanting,  and  ordain  elders  in  every  city, 
as  I  had  appointed  thee.  If  any  be  blameless,  the  husband  of  one  wife, 
having  faithful  children,  not  accused  of  riot,  or  unruly.  For  a  bishop 
must  be  blameless,  as  the  steward  of  God ;  not  self-willed,  not  soon  angry, 
not  given  to  wine,  no  striker,  not  given  to  filthy  lucre." 

Acts  XX.  28.  "  Take  heed  to  all  the  flock,  over  the  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  hath  made  you  bishops." 

1  Tim.  V.  17.  "Let  the  elders  that  rule  well  be  counted  worthy  of 
double  honour,  especially  they  who  labour  in  the  word  and  doctrine-" 

Acts  vi.  1-6.     (Ordination  of  deacons.) 

1  Tim.  iii.  8.  "Likewise  must  the  deacons  be  grave,  not  double- 
tongued,"  &c. 

1  Tim.  iii,  12.  "Let  the  deacons  be  the  husbands  of  one  wife,"  &c. 
10.  "  Let  these,  also,  first  be  proved ;  then  let  them  use  the  office  of  a 
deacon,  being  found  blameless." 

2  Tim.  ii.  2.  "  The  things  that  thou  hast  heard  of  me,  the  same  com- 
mit thou  to  faithful  men,  who  shall  be  able  to  teach  others  also." 

Acts  xiv.  23.     "  Ordained  elders  in  every  church." 

Rev.  ii.  1.     "  To  the  angel  of  the  church  of  Ephesus,  write,"  &:,c.,  &c, 

James  v.  14.     "Let  him  call  for  the  elders  of  the  church." 


THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNION.  191 

first  grow  out  of  the  nature  of  virtue,  and  are  right,  in- 
trinsically, and  by  themselves,  these  are  positive,  i.  e., 
by  special  appointment  of  God,  to  meet  certain  designs. 
They  admit  of  endless  exception.  It  is,  often,  absolutely 
sinful  to  obey  them  ;  and,  when  such  cases  are,  it  is  cast 
upon  us  to  learn,  by  settling  the  question,  When  do  they 
defeat  their  own,  or  some  higher  design  ? 

"  Have  ye  not  read  what  David  did  when  he  was  an 
hungered,  and  they  that  were  with  him  ;  how  he  entered 
into  the  house  of  God,  and  did  eat  the  shew-bread,  which 
was  not  lawful  for  him  to  eat,  neither  for  them  which 
were  with  him,  but  only  for  the  priests."""  The  design 
of  this  rule,  as  to  the  shew-bread,  was  to  carry  out  a 
certain  symbolical  meaning.  The  design  of  David,  was 
to  save  his  own  and  his  servants'  life.  He  soon  made 
up  his  mind  which  was  the  most  important ;  and,  we 
see,  Jesus  Christ  sanctions  the  conclusion  to  which  he 
came.  But  if  the  chance  for  life,  had  been  in  profaning 
the  Lord,  instead  of  the  Lord's  table,  he  must  have  de- 
cided very  differently. 

So  of  the  sabbath,  in  respect  to  which  David's  ease  is 
quoted  by  our  Saviour ;  its  observance  is  by  precept ; 
its  claim  is  jure  divino;  and,  yet,  Christ  never  mentions 
the  day,  except  to  rebuke  the  superstitious  strictness  of 
the  Pharisees,  and  to  show  in  what  various  cases  men 
may  "  profane  it,  and  be  blameless ;"  building  his  posi- 
tion, too,  upon  the  principle  of  design — "  The  sabbath 
was  made  for  man,  and  not  man  for  the  sabbath."^ 

Our  answer,  then,  to  the  question  before  us,  is  an 
easy  one.  There  is  precept  for  the  church.  There  is 
preceptive  model  for  its  form.     There  is  divine  right  for 

»  Matt.  xii.  3,  4.  ^  Mark  ii.  27. 


192  THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNION. 

its  claim.  And  yet, there  maybe  grievous  sin  in  observ- 
ing either.  If  extraordinary  circumstances  in  any  land 
make  another  model  better,  it  is  sin  to  prefer  our  church 
to  that.  If  the  mistake  of  those  with  whom  we  hve 
make  another  model  necessary,  it  is  sin  to  prefer  no 
church  to  theirs ;  unless,  indeed,  it  can  be  proved  that 
their  church  is  worse  than  none. 

We  know^  these  are  delicate  matters.  The  model  that 
Christ  has  left  must  not  be  lightly  departed  from,  any 
more  than  there  may  be  a  departure  lightly  from  the 
observance  of  the  sabbath  day;  but  some  departure, 
sometimes,  is  absolutely  necessary,  from  either,  and  here 
is  the  wisdom  of  the  saints,  to  tell  how  and  when. 

IV.  The  visible  church  is  made  up  of  various  branches, 
between  which  there  are  not  only  certain  rights  and 
duties  of  church  communion,  but  an  interest  and  an  obli- 
gation to  come  together  into  one  upon  some  liberal  and 
general  platform. 

The  corner  stone  which  this  last  doctrine  claims,  is  a 
noble  truth.  Certainly,  the  beau  ideal  of  the  church  is, 
one  homogeneous  body  all  over  the  world.  And  though 
the  reigning  system  of  denominations  has  been  overruled 
by  God  for  incalculable  good,  yet  for  good  which,  like 
the  crucifixion  of  Jesus,  has  come  through  the  path  of 
evil,  a  path  which  no  good  man  dare  ever,  intentionally, 
use.  Christian  union  is  precious.  And,  great  as  the 
growth  of  our  cause  has  been  under  existing  divisions,  it 
is  firmly  believed  that  the  day  of  most  growth  will  be 
the  day  of  most  union. 

But  then  Christian  union,  even  of  an  outward  kind, 
must  be  twofold — not  union  in  church  alone,  but  union 
also  in  church  creed.  The  man  who  blends  the  two 
before  his  eye,  and  prays  for  them,  and  toils  after  them 


THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNION.  193 

for  his  country  and  for  the  world,  is  a  patriot  and  a 
benefactor.  But  the  man  who  separates  the  two,  and 
labours  after  union  in  church,  in  spite  of  discrepance  in 
creed,  is  an  enthusiast;  and  it  is  this  last  kind  of  end 
that  the  doctrine  above  stated  has  in  view. 

The  truth  is,  that,  pious  as  some  of  the  men  have  been, 
who  have  thus  wished  to  bring  the  branches  of  the 
church  together,  its  errors  and  dissensions  remaining  as 
they  are,  their  idea,  savouring,  as  it  does,  of  homage  to 
outward  unity,  on  its  own  account,  and  aside  from  its 
design,  is  one  of  the  entering  steps  toward  superstition ; 
and  we  were  not  surprised  recently  to  hear  that  pre- 
cisely the  same  idea  was  a  favourite  one  in  the  early 
studies  of  one  of  the  modern  heresiarchs  of  England.'' 

It  is  true  the  plan  now  agitated  in  Germany,  and  by 
one,  or  more  good  men  in  this  country,  professes  to  pro- 
vide for  union  in  creed,  as  well  as  in  church  relation.  It 
would  take  the  grander  doctrines  of  the  cross,  in  which 
evangelical  sects  agree,  and  build  out  of  them  a  liberal 
and  general  platform  on  which  all  might  stand.  But  that 
such  a  union  in  creed  as  this — one  effected  by  striking 
out,  not  by  abating,  differences — w^ill  not  answer,  may 
be  made  evident,  we  think,  by  considering  the  objects  in 
which  the  contemplated  union  is  to  be. 

(1.)  There  is  to  be  union  in  ministry. 

Now,  how^ever  possible  it  might  be  to  have  a  creed 
that  should  deal  in  generals,  i.  e.  the  mere  skeleton  of  a 
creed,  for  each  private  Christian  to  clothe  with  flesh  as 

'  Dr.  Pusey.  A  friend  who  not  long  since  made  his  acquaintance  at 
Oxford,  after  speaking  of  his  suavity  of  manner,  and  bonhomie,  as  con. 
trasted  with  the  monkish  sternness  of  one  at  least  of  his  fellow  Tracta- 
rians,  added,  in  substance,  that  the  attractive  idea  of  one  united  church. 
appeared  to  have  been  the  first  that  allured  him  into  the  path  of  error, 

17 


194  THE  TRUE  DOCTPaNE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNION. 

he  might  choose;  it  would  be  exceedingly  hard  to  have 
a  ministry  that  should  deal  in  generals;  especially,  if  that 
ministry  is  to  be  "  evangelical,"  and  those  generals  are 
to  be  "  the  grander  doctrines  of  the  cross." 

And  hard  for  two  reasons :  —  that  an  evangelical 
ministry  (a)  could  not,  if  they  would,  and  (b)  would  not, 
if  they  could,  deal  in  generals. 

(a.)  They  could  not  do  it,  because  the  points  in  which 
sister  churches  differ,  though  called  minor  points,  so 
touch  the  vitals  of  the  gospel,  that  no  minister  could 
long  preach  that  without  preaching  them.  He  could  not 
always  dissect  them  away.  AbiHty  or  inability — perse- 
verance or  falling  from  grace — original  guilt  or  original 
innocence,  are  points  on  which  a  constant  preacher  must 
speak  his  mind,  that  is,  if  he  have  creed  enough  to  tell, 
and  warmth  and  clearness  enough  to  tell  it,  so  as  to  do 
his  people  any  good ;  and  many  a  hearer  would  be 
obliged  to  bring  his  children  and  his  friends,  and  to  come 
himself  under  the  influence  of  teaching,  the  tendency  of 
which  he  might  seriously  fear. 

(b.)  But  furthermore,  an  evangelical  ministry  icould 
not  deal  in  generals.  Their  orders  are  "  to  declare  all 
the  counsel  of  God  ;"^  and  that  loss  of  power  and  pun- 
gency in  preaching  which  the  hiding  of  the  pecuHarities 
of  their  faith  would  cause,  they  would  never  consent  to, 
if  for  no  other  reason  than  that  the  sacrifice  would  be 
vastly  greater  than  the  end  to  be  attained. 

It  is  no  more  true,  however,  that  an  evangelical 
ministry  must  preach  their  mind,  than  that,  if  they  do, 
the  evangelical  churches  cannot  be  united.  Let  the  creed 
be  as  general  as  it  might,  a  pointed  preaching  would  ruin 

»  Acts  XX.  27. 


THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNION.  195 

the  plan  of  union.  It  would  cause  collision  between 
pastor  and  people.  The  people,  however  docilely  dis- 
posed, would  not  consent  to  the  mischief  of  hearing 
error.  It  would  cause  collision  between  pastor  and 
pastor,  not  only  in  the  ecclesiastical  council,  but  in  the 
public  arena.  It  would  cause  collision  between  people 
and  people,  in  choosing  a  pastor,  and  in  sustaining  one 
after  he  is  voted  in.  Therefore,  as  the  very  design  of 
the  church  is,  "  union,  in  order  to  naore  advantageous 
teaching,"  this  concord  most  of  all  discordant,  is  neither 
her  "  interest,"  nor  her  "  obhgation,"  for  it  can  be 
neither,  to  adopt  a  plan  that  frustrates  her  own  design. 

(2.)  Union  in  sacraments. 

Evangelical  churches  differ  as  to  the  mode  and  mean- 
ing of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper.  Multitudes  would 
be  unable  to  sacrifice  the  difference,  believing  the  dying 
command  of  Christ,  and  the  seal  of  regeneration  given 
by  the  Father  were  matters  too  holy  to  be  left  to  human 
convention.  These  must  so  far  dissent  from  the  plan  of 
union. 

Others  might  yield.  But  when  we  remember  that  the 
good  of  a  sacrament  is  by  faith,  it  is  easy  to  see  how 
they  would  be  destroying  this  wdiole  department  of 
worship,  receiving  sacraments  which  are  explained  con- 
trary to  their  faith,  and  administered  contrary  to  their 
faith,  and  which  their  faith  challenges  as  really  not  the 
sacraments  to  which  the  promises  of  God  are  given. 
How  could  a  Baptist  countenance  the  solemn  mockery 
of  infant  baptism,  or  one  not  a  Baptist  the  half-idolatry 
of  insisting  upon  immersion  1  Even  supposing  all  human 
passion  to  be  held  in  check,  the  whole  matter  would  be 
one  of  inextricable  difficulty. 

There  could  not  be  union  in  sacraments. 


196  THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUKION. 

(3.)  Union  in  membership. 

This  of  course  would  have  no  obstacles  peculiarly  its 
own  ;  but  would  find  more  than  enough  to  render  it 
impracticable  in  each  of  the  other  three. 

(4.)  Union  in  government. 

One  church  out  of  the  many  would  have  to  be  chosen, 
and  its  government  given  to  all  the  rest,  the  rest  having, 
in  their  own  judgment,  to  exchange  a  scriptural  for  an 
unscriptural  form. 

Now,  many  would  believe  their  government  in  such 
sense  jure  divino,  that  no  possible  reason  is  enough  to 
change  it ;  while  many  more  would  beheve  theirs  in  such 
sense  jur^e  divino,  that  this  particular  reason  (outward 
union)  is  not  enough;  of  course  neither  class  could  have 
anything  to  do  with  the  plan. 

Grant,  however,  that  after  these  were  stricken  from 
the  list,  a  few  should  remain,  and  two  or  three  churches, 
or  parts  of  two  or  three,  should  come  together,  sober 
proof,  and  proof  taken  from  what  quarter  you  please, — 
from  church  history,  or  from  church  experience,  or  from 
self-inspection,  would  warrant  the  belief  that  they  would 
have  less  actual  concord,  and  that,  too,  on  the  score  of 
government,  when  one,  than  when  two  or  three.  The 
Christian  world  would  gain  in  harmony  less  than  it  would 
lose. 

That  spirit  of  innovation  which  most  of  all  breeds  de- 
bate, is  hard  enough  to  hold  in  check  even  under  the 
present  system,  where  the  doors  of  the  churches  are  open 
from  one  into  the  other,  and  men  are  free  to  find  a 
govern n:ient  precisely  right,  but  vastly  harder  under  a 
system  of  constrained,  artificial  oneness  and  difiicult  con- 
cession. So,  too,  that  impatience  under  the  arm  of  dis. 
cipline  which  most  of  all  breeds  disorder,  is  hard  enough 


THE  TRUE  DOCTRINE  OF  CHURCH  COMMUNION.  197 

to  awe  down,  even  under  the  sanction  of  a  divine  right, 
but  vastly  harder  under  a  government  confessedly  the 
fruit  of  human  convention. 

An  honest  summing  up  of  the  argument,  therefore, 
must,  we  are  sure,  decide  for  the  third  doctrine,  and  re- 
ject the  fourth.  To  excommunicate  beyond  what  the 
design  of  the  church  requires,  is  idolatrous.  To  unite 
beyond  what  the  design  of  the  church  requires,  is  idola- 
trous. And  both,  though  it  may  seem  a  paradox,  may  spring 
from  the  same  source — idolatrous  regard  for  an  external 
unity.  The  Protestant  churches,  as  they  are,  stand,  the 
mass  of  them,  in  an  admirable  medium — kept  from  dissen- 
sion by  being  divided,  kept  from  alienation  by  communion 
— agreement  and  disagreement,  in  that  measure  which  the 
case  may  show,  having  found  for  themselves  naturally 
their  point  of  equilibrium. 

True,  as  has  been  admitted  all  along,  perfect  union  is 
devoutly  to  be  wished,  but  it  must  be  a  union  beginning 
in  the  creed,  and  working  out  to  the  externals ;  any  thing 
else  will  be  like  the  healing  of  the  surface  over  a  fester- 
ing wound.  Speculative  error  is  the  sin ;  speculative 
error,  then,  is  the  subject-matter  for  repentance ;  there 
let  it  begin.  There  must  be  unison,  or  there  cannot  be 
union ;  all  of  us  speaking  the  same  things,  if  there  are  to 
be  no  divisions  among  us.^"  For  should  one  triumph  of 
the  Millennium  be  a  church  harmoniously  one,  it  will  be 
no  triumph  over  the  principle  that  the  church  must  not 
be  one,  any  farther  than  she  can  be  one  harmoniously. 

»  1  Cor.  i.  10. 
THE  END. 


17* 


ERRATA. 

Page  60,  line  10,  for  *'  refuted"  read  reputed. 

Page  88,  line  19,  for  "instructive"  read  instinctive. 

Page  102,  line  3,  for  "  this"  read  His. 

Page  115,  line  21,  for  "  charge"  read  charm. 

Page  132,  line  1,  for  '*  share"  read  snare. 

Page  147,  line  21,  for  "  this"  read  His. 

Page  155,  line  8,  erase  "  out," 


CHEAP  EDITIONS 

OF 

VALUABLE  THEOLOGICAL  BOOKS,  &c. 


Travelling  Colporteurs  wanted,  with  whom  liberal 
terms  will  be  made. 


JAMES  M.  CAMFBELL, 

NO.   98   CHESTNUT   STREET,    PHII^ADErPHIA, 

PUBLISHES 

O'AIJBIIiN^'S  HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION  IN 

Germany  and  Switzerland.  Complete  in  one  volume,  8t'o, 
with  all  the  Notes  and  References. — In  cloth,  $1 ;  half-cloth, 
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(IIj^'Also,  a  new  a3*^d  beautiful  edition  of  the  same  tvork,  in 
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"We  wish  that  a  copy  of  the  History  of  the  Reformation  could  be 
placed  in  the  hands  of  every  family  in  the  United  States." — New  York 
Observer. 

"When  we  first  read  D'Auhign^'s  History  of  the  Reformation,  we 
felt  an  earnest  desire  that  it  might  be  spread  broad-cast  through  the 
land,  that  the  mass  of  our  population  everywhere  might  be  familiar 
with  the  price  at  which  that  glorious  disenthralment  was  purchased, 
and  the  time-honoured  names  that  shared  the  struggle.  We  have  now 
a  prospect  of  realizing  our  wish.  The  American  Tract  Society  is  en- 
gaged with  it.  But  the  greatest  effort  yet  made  is  found  in  the  follow- 
ing notice :  (The  advertisement  of  J.  M.  Campbell's  fifty  centedition.) 
Let  it  be  bought  by  the  lovers  of  the  Reformation,  and  given  to  every 
person  in  the  land  willing  to  read  it  and  not  able  to  buy  it." — Episcopal 
Recorder. 

"  This  History  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  important  works 
published  for  many  years  ;  and  had  we  power  to  do  so,  we  would  in- 
troduce it  into  every  family  circle  in  our  country." — Christian  Ob- 
server. 

"  D'Aubigne's  History  of  the  Reformation  is  a  work  which,  to  the 
importance  of  truth,  adds  the  interest  of  the  most  stirring  romance.'" — 
Berks  ^-  Schuylkill  Journal. 

1 


(2) 

THE  ORIGIN,  PRINCIPLES,  AND  RESULTS  OP  THE 
BRITISH  REPDRMATION.  %  the  rt.  Rev.  john  Henry 

Hopkins,  Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  Dio- 
cese of  Vermont^  l2mo, — Cloth,  $1. 

"  This  admirable  work  is  valuable  to  all  true  Protestants,  and  im- 
portant to  all  religious  thinkers— a  sound  work,  arranged  by  a  master 
hand:  one  who,  if  he  were  not  a  bishop,  would  deserve,  for  this  pro- 
duction alone,  to  wear  the  crown  of  distinction.  Bishop  Onderdorik  s 
prohibition  that  these  lectures  should  not  be  delivered  from  the  pulpit 
m  Philadelphia,  has  done  a  sure  good  to  the  reading  public  at  large, 
affording  them  an  opportunity  to  'read,  mark,  and  inwardly  digest 
them  in  their  own  closets,  and  substantially  to  profit  by  that  full  tide 
of  thought  which  solely  carries  us  to  the  right  haven.  Clear  Chris- 
tian truths,  aided  by  the  light  of  history,  are  enforced  and  exemplified, 
and  a  careful  examination  instituted  between  the  principles  of  the 
actual  British  Reformation  and  that  effected  by  those  eminent  men 
on  the  continent,  Calvin,  Luther,  and  Zuinghus.  Each  lecture  is, 
as  it  were,  a  rule  of  faith,  unity,  and  doctrine.  In  short,  the  entire 
work  is  prepared  with  consummate  judgment,  thoughtful  investigation, 
and  in  a  Christian  spirit.  To  use  the  words  of  a  contemporary,  it  is 
full  of  the  clear  thought,  the  kind  spirit,  and  the  easy  style,  which  we 
never  fail  to  find  in  the  authors  productions.'  Those  who  purdiase  a 
copy  and  read  it  slowly  and  surely,  will  be  essentially  benefited  by 
the  strengthening  knowledge  they  receive:'— Boston  Trans. 

<' These  lectures  discuss  the  ensuing  topics:  'The  Reformation 
and  its  Results— The  Rule  of  Faith— Roman  Doctrine  of  Tradition 
and  Infallibility  Disproved— Papal  Supremacy— Romish  Anathemas 
and  Persecution— Celibacy  and  Monachism— Worship  of  the  Virgin 
and  Saints,  and  Rehcs,  and  Images— Purgatory,  Satisfaction,  and  In- 
duP'-ences — and  Transubstantiation.'  The  whole  verifies  that  Rome 
is  Babylon  the  Grea^— that  the  Pope  is  Antichrist— ih^t  Babylon 
must  fall — and  that  Antichrist  will  be  destroyed — 'For  the  mouth oj- 
the  Lord  hath  spoken  it  /'  The  statements  and  quotations  from  anti- 
quity are  of  great  value,  and  critically  correct  as  far  as  we  couJd  ex- 
amine them ;  and  the  whole  volume  is  a  contribution  to  our  series  of 
antipapist  works,  which  will  convince  and  edify  all  those  who  have 
not  devoted  much  time  to  the  investigation  of  Vo^ery:'— Christian  In- 
telligencer. 

"  No  Episcopalian,  who  takes  an  interest  in  the  current  religious 
discussions,  should  pass  this  volume  by."— tJ.  S.  Saturday  Post. 


AN  EXTRAORDINARY  DISCOURSE  ON  THE  RISE 

AND  Fall  of  Papacy.    By  Robert  Fleming,  V.  D.  M. 
Quo. — Paper  cover,  25  cents. 


(3) 

THE  ERRORS  OF  ROMANISM  traced  to  their  origin 

IN   Human  Nature.     By  Archbishop  Whately.     8fo. — 

Paper  cover,  25  cents. 

"  The  author  of  this  work  stands  among  the  most  learned  and  able 
theologians  of  his  age.  Though  he  wears  the  episcopal  mitre,  he  is 
the  unflinching  opponent  of  High  Churchism  wherever  it  is  found; 
and  in  the  treatise  before  us,  traces  Romanism  to  the  deeply-seated 
principles  of  fallen  nature,  instead  of  any  accidental  causes.  Of  course 
it  is  highly  philosophical." — Congregational  Journal. 

"  We  are  gratified  to  see  this  able  work  in  the  handsome  form  be-  < 
fore  us — a  form  adapted  for  general  and  extensive  circulation.  Those 
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need  no  argument  to  persuade  them  to  read  this  learned  and  lucid 
exposition  of  the  origin  of  the  most  subtle  as  well  as  the  most  gross 
errors  which  have  ever  been  amalgamated  with  Christian  truth." — 
Christian  Observer.  .  ,     ^.,        -u-     ^  j„ 

"  It  is  a  calm,  dispassionate,  argumentative  and  philosophical  dis- 
cussion of  the  errors  of  Romanism,  displaying  intimate  knowledge  of 
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mind,  prepared  to  distinguish  between  things  that  are  peculiarly  Ro- 
mish and  such  as  are  common  to  professed  Christians  of  every  sect, 
who  exalt  the  human  above  the  divine.  •  ^  ^  • 

"  We  venture  to  say  that  no  candid  reader  will  be  disappointed  m 
the  perusal  of  this  book." — Protestant  Banner. 


A  VOICE  FROM  ROME,  answered  by  an  American  Citi- 
zen ;  or,  A  Review  of  the  Encyclical  Letter  of  Pope  Gregory 
XVI. ,  A.  D.  1832.  The  Bishop's  Oath  and  the  Pope's  Curse, 
^c,  127710.     Paper  cover,  12^  cents. 

"  The  documents  mentioned  in  the  title  are  given  in  full  and  from 
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these  transcripts  from  the  laws  and  records  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  to  bring  conviction  to  their  minds  of  its  intolerance  and  des- 
potism. This  is  just  the  sort  of  testimony  which  is  wanted,  and  which 
is  above  impeachment.  We  have  referred  heretofore  at  some  length 
to  the  incongruities  between  the  liberal  professions  of  Roman  Catho- 
lic bishops  in  the  United  States,  and  their  oath  of  allegiance  to  a  povver 
which  denounces,  and,  as  far  as  it  can,  prevents  by  force,  the  exercise 
of  every  man's  natural  right  to  believe  what  his  conscience  dictates. 
We  wish  heartily  that  this  pamphlet  could  be  in  the  hands  of  every 
man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  land.  We  wish,  that  those  who  have 
been  reared  to  trust  in  the  purity  and  justice  of  the  Church  of  Rome, 
would  read  these  documents  and  judge  for  themselves,  whether  their 
civil  liberty  could  be  secure  were  tliat  church  ascendant;  whether  the 
privileges  which  Americans  profess  to  hold  dear  would  not  all  be 
crushed  under  its  influence.  -,  .      •  j 

"An  able  hand  has  collected  the  materials  of  this  publication,  and 
connected  them  with  lucid  and  forcible  comments." — North  American. 


(4) 

HISTORY  OF  THE  INQUISITION  OF  SPAIN,  FROM 

THE  Time  of  its  Establishment  to  the  Retgn  of  Ferdinatvp 
VII.  Composed  from  the  Original  Documents  of  the  Archives  of 
the  Supreme  Council,  ^c.  By  D.  Juan  Antonio  Llorente. 
One  volume,  8vo. — Half-cloth,  50  cents ;  paper  cover,  37| 
cents. 

"  Don  Juan  Antonio  Llorente  is  the  only  writer  who  has  succeeded 
in  completely  lifting  the  veil  from  the  dread  mysteries  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion. It  is  obvious  how  very  fev/  would  be  competent  to  this  task, 
since  the  proceedings  of  the  Holy  Office  were  shrouded  in  such  im- 
penetrable secrecy,  that  even  the  prisoners  who  were  arraigned  before 
it  were  kept  in  ignorance  of  their  own  processes.  Even  such  of  its 
functionaries  as  have,  at  different  times,  pretended  to  give  its  transac- 
tions to  the  world,  have  confined  themselves  to  an  historical  outline, 
with  meager  notices  of  such  parts  of  its  internal  discipline  as  might  be 
safely  disclosed  to  the  public. 

"  Llorente  was  Secretary  to  the  Tribunal  of  Madrid  from  1790  to 
1792.  His  official  station  consequently  afforded  him  every  facility  for 
an  acquaintance  with  the  most  recondite  affairs  of  the  Inquisition; 
and  on  its  suppression,  at  the  close  of  1808,  he  devoted  several  years 
to  a  lawful  investigation  of  the  registry  of  the  tribunals,  both  of  the 
capital  and  of  the  "provinces,  as  well  as  of  such  other  original  docu- 
ments contained  within  their  archives  as  had  not  hitherto  been  con- 
fided to  the  light  of  day.  It  is  entitled  to  the  credit  of  being  the  most, 
indeed  S^  The  onln  authentic  History  of  the  Modern  Inquisition  .-.^Jl 
exhibiting  its  minutest  forms  of  practice,  and  the  insidious  policy  by 
which  they  were  directed,  from  the  origin  of  the  institution  down  to 
its  temporary  abolition.  It  well  deserves  to  be  studied,  as  the  record 
of  the  most  humiliating  triumphs  which  fanaticism  has  ever  been  able 
to  obtain  over  human  reason,  and  that,  too,  during  the  most  civilized 
periods,  and  in  the  most  civilized  portions  of  the  world." — Prescotfs 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 


FATHER  CLEMENT,     a  Roman  Catholic  Story.    12mo. 

Paper  cover,  25  cents. 

"  This  book,  by  a  lady  whose  name  is  deservedly  celebrated,  con- 
tains, fictionary  as  it  is,  more  valuable  truth  than  many  elaborate  vo- 
lumes against  Popery.  We  perused  it  many  years  ago,  not  only  with 
interest,  but  with  a  sense  of  foscination  and  profound  feeling.  It  is  the 
ablest  of  Miss  Kennedy's  striking  works.  The  Papists  have  been  so 
much  galled  by  it,  as  to  produce  a  tale  on  their  part ;  a  most  lame  and 
impotent  affair." — Princeton  Review. 


(5) 

FOX'S  BOOK  OF  MARTYRS,   illustrated.     Onc  volume,  Svo. 
In  cloth,  $1  50. 

(JIj*  Also,  a  new  and  cheap  edition,  Illustrated  luith  54  En- 
gravings.— In  half-cloth,  §1. 

"  It  is  one  of  the  remarkable  things  of  the  day,  that  this  book  can  be 
sold  at  ONE  DOLLAR.  So  neat  and  even  beautiful  in  its  appearance,  so 
plain  in  its  typography ;  650  octavo  pages  of  close  print,  for  the  sura 
that  the  most  common  labourer  gets  in  a  single  day !  Here  the  reader 
may  become  acquainted  with  many  of  the  most  remarkable  characters 
in  the  Church's  remarkable  history,  and  study  the  gospel  in  the  lives 
and  deaths  of  its  martyrs." — Episcopal  Recorder. 

"  Fox's  Book  of  Martyrs  is  a  work  which  ought  to  be  in  every  Pro- 
testant family.  The  present  edition  is  offered  at  the  extremely  low 
price  of  one  dollar  per  copy,  and  is  probably,  next  to  Mr.  Campbell's 
edition  of  DAubigne,  the  cheapest  book  in  the  American  market. 
The  publication  of  such  standard  works  as  the  History  of  the  Refor- 
mation, and  the  Book  of  Martyrs,  at  a  rate  which  places  them  within 
the  means  of  every  class  of  the  community,  is  an  enterprise  which 
commends  itself  to  the  favour  of  every  Christian." — Southern  Church- 
man. 

"  A  republication  of  this  work  at  this  peculiar  crisis,  when  the  coun- 
try is  agitated  upon  the  Catholic  question,  is  exceedingly  appropriate. 
Mr.  Campbell  has  performed  his  part  in  direct  reference  to  the  public 
taste.  The  work  is  embellished  by  fifty  or  more  engravings,  strikingly 
illustrative  of  those  dark  scenes  of  depravity  which  have  drenched  the 
earth  in  the  purest  blood  which  has  ever  flowed  in  human  veins. 

"The  persecutions  of  the  Protestants  by  the  Papal  Church,  which 
are  here  faithfully  recorded,  are  enough  to  chill  one's  blood  in  their 
recital,  and  quite  enough  to  awaken  a  fearful  anxiety  lest  the  same 
awful  scenes  should  be  repeated  in  the  future  history  of  the  Church 
and  world." — Olive  Branch. 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIE&E  OF  LONDDNDERRY, 

AND  Defence  of  Enniskillen  in  1688  and  1689.  Bi/  ike 
Rev.  John  Graham,  A.  M.,  Rector  of  Tamlaghtard,  in  the 
Diocese  of  Berry.    l2mo. — Cloth,  62^  cents. 

"  This  is  a  thrilling  narrative  of  an  event  in  the  history  of  the  un- 
happy times  of  Ireland,  when  religious  and  civil  animosities  engen- 
dered feuds  of  the  most  savage  character.  There  is  much  at  the  pre- 
sent time  to  revive  interest  in  the  perusal  of  a  book  of  this  sort,  and 
we  doiibt  not  it  will  have  an  extensive  sale."' — Phila.  Gazette. 

"  It  is  full  of  interest.  The  sufferings  of  the  Protestants  during  the 
siege  are  almost  incredible.  The  enumeration  is  sickening,  j-et  it  is 
true.  It  shows  how  much  human  nature  can  endure  when  conscience 
and  religion  demand  the  sacrifice." — Richmond  Christ.  Advocate. 


(6) 

PAPAL  ROME  AS  IT  IS.  ByaRoman.theU^y.h.  Gius- 
TiNiANi,  D.  Jy.^  formerly  a  Roman  Priest,  now  minister  of  iht 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Church.  Duodecimo.  —  Paper  cover, 
25  cents. 

"Much  as  we  have  heard  of  this  volume  and  its  author,  it  has  but 
lately  fallen  into  our  hands.  And  it  is  due  to  the  public,  more  than 
to  the  publisher,  to  say,  that  we  regard  it  as  worthy  of  all  confidence, 
and  as  forming  a  rich  though  sad  treasury  of  facts,  illustrative  of  the 
character  of  '  Babylon  the  Great.'  Dr.  Giustiniani  is  a  Roman  by  birtJi 
and  education;  a  man  of  learning,  and,  so  far  as  we  can  judge,  of 
sound  evangelical  piety.  Once  a  Roman  priest,  he  is  now  a  minister 
of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  church  in  this  country,  labouring  with 
zeal  and  strong  affection  for  the  conversion  of  deluded  Romanists.  As 
a  stranger  he  needs  credentials ;  and  they  are  modestly  furnished,  from 
the  highest  sources.  Whoever  reads  his  "work  will  be  satisfied  at  once, 
that  he  is  an  honest,  able,  and  faithful  witness,  who  '  sets  down  naught 
in  malice,'  but  writes  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  with  an  eye  to  his  final  ac- 
count. '  Papal  Rome  as  it  is,'  ought  not  to  be  overlooked  by  any  man 
who  lies  under  the  solemn  responsibilities  of  an  American  citizen,  to 
God,  his  country,  and  the  world." — Boston  Recorder. 

"This  little  volume  of  132  pages  should  be  read  by  every  Protes- 
tant. Here,  '  Popery  as  it  is,'  is  brought  out  and  exposed,  not  with 
malevolence,  but  in  a  Christian  spirit ;  not  by  a  Protestant,  but  by  a 
Roman;  not  by  a  stranger,  or  a  looker-on,  but  by  one  born  in  Rome, 
educated  a  priest,  and  who  actually  officiated  in  the  abominations  he 
portrays. 

"  This  book,  if  read,  will  do  good,  and  we  are  glad  to  see  such  truth- 
ful expositions  of  the  errors  and  corruptions  of  the  Papal  church, 
brought  before  the  public  by  one  fully  competent  to  the  task,  and  in 
whom  they  may  have  entire  confidence." — Baptist  Record. 

"  This  volume  contains  an  account  of  the  author's  conversion  to  Pro- 
testantism. In  developing  the  different  stages  of  this  slow  but  gradual 
process  of  Divine  illumination  and  sanctiification,  the  writer  presents 
to  the  reader,  in  a  spirited  and  apparent  candid  way,  much  of  the  'ini- 
quity' of  Romanism,  indicating  that  Rome  never  changes,  and  not  a 
few  arguments  of  powerful  logic  to  the  overthrow  of  some  of  its  most 
unscriptural  and  absurd  errors.  We  hope  it  will  be  extensively  circu- 
lated."— Southern  Churchman. 

**  This  work  seems  to  be  written  in  a  spirit  of  great  kindness,  and  at 
^  this  time,  when  the  attention  of  the  world  seems  distracted  by  ques- 
tions in  which  Papacy  exerts  a  prominent  influence,  it  will  be  found 
useful  for  both  Catholic  and  Protestant." — Phita.  Gazette. 

"The  value  of  this  little  volume  consists  in  the  authentic  testimony 
which  it  gives  of  the  corruptions  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  by  one  who 
has  been  behind  the  scenes.  It  is  truly  marvellous  that  such  a  system 
should  ever  be  embraced  vinder  the  name  of  Religion." — Presbyterian. 


(7) 

THE  LIVES  OF  POPE  ALEXANDER  VI.,  AND  HIS 

Son,  Cesar  Borgia.     By  George  Gordon.     One  volume^ 

Svo. — Paper  cover,  37^  cents. 

"  These  are  notorious  characters,  '  condemned  to  everlasting  fame,' 
or  infamy.  To  read  of  their  intrigues,  their  lust,  their  simony  and 
cruelty,  while  professing  to  guide  and  govern  the  church,  is  to  be  pain- 
fully oppressed  with  a  conviction  of  the  dreadful  lengths  in  wicked- 
ness to  which  a  human  being  can  proceed  under  devout  pretences ; 
and  to  feel  that  God  is  indeed  slow  to  anger,  and  of  great  forbearance, 
that  he  can  endure  so  long,  while  wretches  so  vile  breathe  his  air. 
Look  at  this  flagrant  wickedness,  and  say  if  Luther  was  premature  in 
his  attempt  at  reformation,  or  too  indignant  at  abominations  which 
must  have  been  intolerably  loathsome  and  revolting  to  a  decent  mo- 
ralist."— Christian  Mirror. 

"  The  persons  whose  biographies  are  here  presented,  stand  forth 
prominently  in  Ecclesiastical  and  Civil  History,  and  their  lives  present 
much  incident  of  the  deepest  interest.  The  times  in  which  they  lived 
were  filled  with  stirring  events,  and  the  men  themselves,  from  their 
personal  character,  and  the  infamy  with  which  their  career  was  stained, 
must  long  excite  general  curiosity.  The  book  is  large,  handsomely 
printed,  and  will  doubtless  be  very  generally  read." — N.  Y.  Courier. 

"It  comprises  the  lives  of  perhaps  two  of  the  most  depraved  and 
desperate  ministers  that  ever  boasted  of  succession  from  the  Holy 
Apostles  of  the  blessed  Redeemer.  The  lives  of  these  infamous  men 
were  filled  with  every  species  of  iniquity.  But  for  the  fact  that  they 
exhibit  the  spirit  that  pervades  the  headship  of  a  false  and  apostate 
church,  such  enormities  as  are  here  revealed  ought  to  be  buried  in  the 
deep  and  gloomy  oblivion  of  the  dark  ages.'' — Richmond  Christian 
Advocate. 

A  NARRATIVE  DF  THE  INIQUITIES  AND 

Barbarities  practised  at  Rome  in  the  Nineteenth  Cen- 
tury.     By  Raffaele   Ciocci,  formerly  a  Benedictine  and 
Cistercian  Monk,  Student  and  Hon.  Librarian  of  the  Papal  Col- 
lege of  San  Bernardo,  .Bile  Terme  Biocleziane,  in  Borne.  Second 
American,  from  second  London  edition.    With  an  .American  In- 
troductory Notice,  showing  the  Existence  of  Similar  Practices 
in  the  United  States.    V2mo. — Paper  cover,  25  cents. 
"Among  the  authentic  narratives  of  modern  Jesuit  colleges,  semi- 
naries, and  monastic  institutions,  this  history  is  one  of  the  highest 
rank  and  value ;  for  it  is  a  development  of  their  true  character,  as  is 
proved  by  two  facts ;  American  youth,  male  and  female,  are  prohibit- 
ed from  seeing  their  family  relatives  and  friends ;  and  letters  are  rob- 
bed and  forged  in  every  papist  school  and  college  in  the  United  States, 
exactly  as  Ciocci  describes  the  felonious  practice  in  Rome.     Every 
citizen  should  read  and  ponder  this  affecting  volume.    We  earnestly 
call  upon  all  the  lovers  of  the  Bible,  and  the  friends  of  our  public 
schools,  to  study  this  narrative."' — Christian  Intelligencer. 


(8) 

"  We  invite  attention  to  this  work  as  an  exceeding  interesting  and 
important  narrative.  We  have  here  unveiled  the  machinations  of 
Jesuit  priests  in  the  nineteenth  century.  It  is  a  dark  picture  of  fraud 
and  cruelty,  and  shows  that  the  historic  mirror  yet  reveals  Rome  as 
she  is." — Episcopal  Recorder. 

"  It  abounds  with  startHng  revelations  on  the  subject  indicated  by 
its  title.  The  book  ought  to  be  read  by  every  Protestant. — N.  Y. 
Commercial  Advertiser. 

"  A  narrative  of  thrilling  interest,  detailing  numerous  instances  of 
deceit,  falsehood,  and  fiendish  cruelty,  practised  by  the  Jesuits  and 
monks  of  Rome  at  the  present  time.  Romanists  will  no  doubt  accuse 
him  of  falsehood;  but  his  narrative  carries  internal  evidence  of  its 
truth,  in  the  record  of  his  own  errors,  and  his  numerous  references  to 
persons  of  distinction  now  living." — Christiaii  Observer. 

"  A  simple,  truth-like  narrative,  which  makes  the  blood  of  an  Ameri- 
can boil.    It  cannot  be  read  but  with  strong  emotion. 

"  This  '  Narrative'  contains  an  account  of  the  most  outrageous  decep- 
tions and  atrocious  cruelties  practised  at  Rome  on  the  author  himself 
from  his  thirteenth  year,  when  he  entered  the  Pontifical  College.  It 
should  be  read  by  every  one  who  imagines  that  the  character  of  the 
Church  of  Rome  has  essentially  changed,  and  that  the  bloody  persecu- 
tions of  the  Vatican  have  ceased ;  and  by  all  who  need  any  testimony 
to  the  barbarity  and  tyranny  of  the  religious  system  of  that  church  at 
the  present  time,  where  it  is  allowed  to  develope  itself  untrammeled 
by  the  restraints  of  public  opinion  or  legislative  enactments."  — 
Southern  Churchman. 


EOME'S  POLICY  TOWAROS  THE  BIBLE; 

or  Papal  Efforts  to  Suppress  the  Scriptures  in  the 
LAST  Five  Centuries.  Exposed  by  an  American  Citizen. 
l2mo.     Paper  cover,  15  cents. 

"'A  Voice  from  P^ome,'  and  'Rome's  Policy  towards  the  Bible,'  are 
tvi'O  very  instructive  and  interesting  publications  from  the  press  of 
Mr.  Campbell  of  this  city.  To  this  publisher  the  Christian  public  is 
greatly  indebted  for  the  impulse  which  he  has  imparted  to  the  circu- 
lation of  cheap  religious  literature.  For  this,  he  has  certainly  entitled 
himself  to  the  gratitude  and  the  patronage  of  all  who  desire  to  see  the 
press  an  ally  to  the  pulpit.  The  publications  which  we  have  just 
named  afford  an  illustration  of  this  remark.  They  present  some  of 
the  strongest  arguments  against  popery,  in  the  shape  of  a  simple 
statement  of  facts,  or  exhibition  of  authentic  documents;  and  they 
exhibit  aspects  of  the  subject  which  cannot  often  be  presented  with 
convenience  from  the  sacred  desk.  They  present  an  array  of  evidence 
against  the  papal  power,  which  is  deemed  sulTicient  to  convince  any 
reasonable  man,  that  popery  in  the  nineteenth  century  is  as  utterly 
incompatible  with  the  enjoyment  of  civil  and  religious  freedom  as  it 
was  in  the  sixteenth.  Out  of  the  mouth  of  the  canon  law,  by  bulls 
of  popes,  the  decrees  of  CEcumenical  councils,  and  their  own  solemn 
oath  of  installation,  the  bishops  of  the  Church  of  Rome  are  convicted 
of  implacable  hostility  to  free  institutions.  We  commend  these  vo- 
lumes to  all  who  feel  an  interest  in  the  topics  of  which  they  treat." — 
Episcopal  Recorder. 


(9) 

SPIRITUAL  DIREGTION,  AND  AURICULAR 

Confession  ;  their  History,  Theory,  and  Consequences.   Being 
a  translation  of  "  Du  Pretre^De  la  Femme,  De  la  Famille.''^  By 

M.  MicHELET.     \2mo Price  50  cents,  in  cloth. 

"  This  work  has  created  an  immense  sensation  in  Paris,  and  has 

doubtless  been  one  of  the  principal  causes  of  the  late  expulsion  of  the 

Jesuits  from  France. 

Notices  of  the  American  Press. 

"Michelet  is  one  of  the  ablest  writers  of  the  age,  and  he  has  thrown 
his  whole  strength  into  this  work." — Neiv  York  Tribune. 

*'  The  work  is  intended  for  his  countrymen,  but  its  truths  are  im- 
portant in  this.  The  ghosts  of  the  papal  regime  are  gliding  about  in 
our  streets.  They  betray  our  humanity  into  giving  them  a  refuge,  too 
often  in  our  hearts.  But  the  veil  must  be  hfted  from  them.  Their 
hideousness  must  be  exposed,  and  this  Michelet  has  done  most  tho- 
roughly. He  shows  that  the  ignorant  priests  of  our  day,  instead  of 
doing  less  mischief  than  those  of  old,  do  more." — Christian  Intelli- 
gencer. 

"  This  work  is  likely  to  excite  considerable  attention.  It  contains 
some  startling  revelations  in  relation  to  the  almost  universal  though 
secret  influence  of  the  Jesuits,  even  in  the  privacy  of  domestic  life. 
The  author  asserts  that  the  invisible  Jesuit  sits  in  the  family  circ'e  and 
boldly  denounces  the  order  as  '  enemies  of  the  modern  mind,  enemies 
of  hberty  and  of  the  future.' " — Commercial  Advertiser. 

"  This  is  emphatically  a  great  book,  full  of  thought  ele2:antly  ex- 
pressed, portraying,  in  vivid  light,  the  secret  intrigues  of  Jesuitism. 
No  one  can  read  the  work  of  Michelet  without  rising  from  its  perusal 
alarmed  at  the  power  exercised  in  the  confessional  over  women,  and 
thus  over  the  family." — Protestant  Banner. 

"  We  earnestly  hope  that  the  high  character  of  the  author,  the  vigour 
and  interest  of  the  work,  and  the  importance  of  the  discussion,  will 
secure  for  the  work  a  wide  circulation  and  a  careful  and  attentive  pe- 
rusal. It  is  just  the  boolc  that  is  needed  on  this  subject  in  our  country 
at  the  present  time." — N.  Y.  Evangelist. 

"  This  volume  owes  its  origin  to  the  controversy  now  existing  be- 
tween the  Jesuits  and  some  of  the  colleges  of  France.  Its  develop- 
ments of  the  nature  and  effects  of  Auricular  Confession  are  striking 
and  fearful,  and  demonstrate,  that,  as  practised  in  the  Roman  church, 
it  is  a  horrible  source  of  vice  and  iniquity." — Southern  Churchman. 


THE  LITTLE  STONE  ANB  THE  GREAT  IMASE; 

or,  Lectures  on  the  Prophecies  Symbolized  in  Nebu- 
chadnezzar's VISION  OF  the  Golden-headed  Monster. 
By  Rev.  George  Junkin,  D.  D.,  President  of  Miami  Univer- 
sity, Ohio,    8vo. — In  cloth,  f  1  50. 


( 11 ) 

THE  FROTESTANT  GIBLINA  FRENCH  NUNNERY; 

or,  School  Girl  in  France.  18mo. — Cloth,  Price  37i  cents. 
"  They  have  digged  a  pit  to  take  me,  and  hid  snares  for  my 
feet.'''' — Jer.  xviii.  22. 

"  This  is  a  narrative  founded  on  facts,  intended  to  point  out  the  al- 
leged '  evils  attendant  on  the  too  common  practice  of  sending  young 
persons  to  Romish  schools,'  thereby  'sapping  and  undermining  the 
foundation  of  a  Protestant  education.'  The  work  possesses  much  ge- 
neral interest,  and  induces  reflections  which  are  all-important  in  a 
country  where  an  entire  separation  of  church  and  state  is  considered 
as  one  of  the  strongest  bulwarks  of  republican  liberty." — Phila.  Gaz. 

"  Those  of  our  readers  who  wish  to  know  what  a  Roman  Catholic 
nunnery  is,  and  what  kind  of  influences  are  exerted  upon  Protestant 
girls  who  are  placed  in  them,  may  profitably  consult  this  little  book. 
It  is  written  in  a  fascinating  style,  and  the  interest  of  the  narrative  is 
well  sustained." — Vrotestant  Banner. 

"  An  aflfecting  history,  developing  the  arts  of  Romanism  and  the 
power  and  influence  of  its  numerous  attractions.  The  Christian  pa- 
rent or  guardian,  who  is  tempted  to  intrust  the  education  of  his  chil- 
dren to  institutions  professedly  established  for  the  extension  of  learn- 
ing, but  really  for  the  propagation  of  Popery,  would  do  well  to  read 
this  book,  and  learn  what  he  may  reasonably  expect.  It  bears  the 
stamp  of  truth.  We  have  seldom  been  more  interested  in  a  narrative ; 
but  we  have  higher  objects  than  merely  to  interest  them,  when  we 
cordially  recommend  its  perusal  to  others." — Baptist  Advocate. 

"  This  book  might  be  profitably  read  by  all  Protestant  parents,  too 
many  of  whom  are  insensible  to  the  snares  and  dangers  to  which  they 
expose  their  children  by  intrusting  their  education  to  those  whom  we 
believe  to  be  in  serious  error,  and  whose  proselyting  spirit  ought  to 
be  so  well  known." — Banner  of  the  Cross. 

"  Those  Protestant  parents  who  believe  that  no  harm  will  follow 
from  intrusting  the  education  of  their  children  to  Roman  Catholic 
teachers,  would  do  well  to  read  this  book,  and  there  learn  the  various 
means  resorted  to  by  Catholics  in  order  to  make  proselytes.  It  em- 
braces many  points  of  thrilling  interest  in  regard  to  the  arts  and  ma- 
chinations of  the  Pope,  which  are  well-calculated  to4raw  in  the  young 
and  unwary. 

"  It  will  be  extremely  useful  in  Sabbath-school  libraries." — Baptist 
Record. 


THE  GIPSIES  IN  SPAIN:  with  an  original  collection  of 
their  Songs  and  Poetry.  By  George  Borrow.  8^0. — Paper 
cover,  3H  cents. 

"  A  strange  book  this  ;  a  strange  subject,  written  by  a  strange  man  ; 
the  only  living  man  competent  to  write  such  a  book.  The  volume 
contains  fine  materials  for  romance,  and  some  even  for  history ;  in- 
formation collected  from  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  exhibited  without 
pretensions  or  parade."- — Westminster  Review, 


(  12) 

NEANSER'S  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN 

Religion  during  the  First  Three  Centuries.    &vo.  pp  48. 
—Cloth,  $1  50. 

'*  This  is  a  work  of  established  and  high  reputation.  Neander  has 
been  termed  the  great  ecclesiastical  historian  of  the  age." — Christian 
Intelligencer. 

"We  are  gratified  to  find  that  this  valuable  and  cheap  publication 
is  presented  t-o  the  public  on  good  paper  and  legible  type  ;  thus  prov- 
ing that  convenience  and  cheapness  may  be  combined. 

"  We  commend  this  work  to  our  readers  of  all  ages :  it  is  a  subject 
of  which  none  should  be  ignorant.  Who  does  not  wish  for  accurate 
knowledge  of  the  history  of  the  Christian  religion  and  church,  during 
the  first  three  centuries!  The  grain  of  mustard-seed,  planted  in  the 
apostolic  age,  has  become  a  mighty  tree,  on  whose  fruit  the  nations 
live,  and  by  whose  branches  they  are  sheltered.  The  reader  will  find, 
in  the  recital  of  the  early  history  of  the  Christian  church,  an  argument 
in  support  of  the  divinity  of  its  origin.  It  was  introduced  into  the 
world  without  the  attractions  of  pomp,  or  the  support  of  power ;  and 
did  not  constrain  the  judgment  of  men  by  offering  them  '  the  tribute 
or  the  sword.'  Wrapped  at  first  in  swaddling-clothes  and  laid  in  a 
manger,  it  gradually  developed  the  vigour  of  manhood,  and  the  purity 
of  heaven. 

"  The  worshippers  of  the  late  false  gods  of  Greece  and  Rome  opposed 
the  progress  of  the  new  religion.  But  the  results  of  every  succeeding 
persecution,  armed  with  imperial  power,  affording  additional  proof 
that  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  became  the  seed  of  the  church,  the  reli- 
gion of  Greece  and  Rome  were  buried  beneath  the  ruins  of  their  civil 
and  political  institutions.  The  religion  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  survived ; 
and  when  the  sign  appeared  in  Heaven, '  By  this  thou  shalt  conquer,' 
it  ascended  the  throne  of  the  Csesars.  Genius  and  learning  have  con- 
spired for  its  overthrow  ;  and  the  rock  remains  unshaken.  The  insidi- 
ous pen  of  the  historian  has  seemed  to  praise  while  it  aimed  to  destroy ; 
but  the  simple  histories  of  the  '  Fishermen  of  Gahlee'  will  be  received 
by  the  world,  after  existing  empires  shall  have  declined  and  fallen, 
and  new  dynasties  shall  have  arisen.  In  vain  did  Voltaire  proclaim  to 
the  world,  '  Crush  the  wretch.'  Every  opposer  of  this  Divine  Teacher 
shall  be  brought  to  acknowledge,  with  the  dying  apostate  Julian, '  O 
Galilean  !  thou  hast  conquered.' 

"The  work  of  Dr.  Neander,  which  is  translated  from  the  German, 
has  never  before  been  republished  in  the  United  States,  and  is  very  rare. 
Its  character  may  be  inferred  from  a  general  view  of  its  contents,  viz. : 
the  introduction  ;  the  history  of  the  persecution  of  Christianity  ;  the 
history  of  Church  discipline  and  of  Christian  life  and  worship ;  the  his- 
tory of  Christian  sects  and  doctrines,  and  an  account  of  the  chief 
fathers  of  the  Church.  Dr.  Neander  has  attained  high  reputation  as  a 
scholar ;  and  the  discussion  of  such  subjects  by  an  eminent  writer 
cannot  fail  to  possess  high  interest,  and  to  contain  valuable  informa- 
tion."— Baltimore  American. 


(13) 

THE  HISTORT  OF  THE  GHURGH  OF  EMUNS, 

TO  THE  Revolution  of  1688.  By  the  Rt.  Rev.  Thomas  Fow- 
ler Short,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  So  dor  and  Man.  First  Ameri- 
can^ from  the  third  London  edition.  8vo.  pp.  380. — Cloth, 
$1  50. 

"  This  is  a  book  as  interesting  to  the  general  reader  as  to  one  speci- 
ally interested  in  the  remarkable  history  it  develops  and  extends.  It 
is  written,  as  far  as  we  can  judge  from  a  hasty  glance  at  it,  in  a  liberal, 
comprehensive,  and  Christian  spiiit,  not  sparing  the  defects  of  the 
Church  of  England,  and  not  failing  to  give  credit  to  other  sects  where 
the  Vi^riter  has  thought  it  was  due  to  them.  The  typography  and  gene- 
ral appearance  of  the  book  are  creditable  to  the  taste  of  the  enter- 
prising publisher." — -Philadelphia  Gazette. 

"  We  welcome  this  elaborate  and  valuable  work  as  a  most  important 
addition  to  the  series  of  Protestant  publications  from  the  press  of  J.  M. 
Campbell." — North  American. 

"  We  feel  grateful  to  Mr.  Campbell  for  his  handsome  reprint  of  this 
learned,  impartial,  and  valuable  work.  The  publisher  of  such  books 
deserves  to  be  liberally  sustained  and  encouraged  by  the  Christian 
public,  and  especially  by  churchmen.  It  is  the  fruit  of  many  years' 
reading  and  immense  labour  and  research ;  and,  though  its  professed 
object  is  '  to  facilitate  the  studies  of  young  men  who  are  preparing 
themselves  for  the  offices  of  the  church,'  there  is  no  class  of  readers 
who  will  not  find  in  it  pleasure  and  profit." — Banner  of  the  Cross. 

"  There  is  a  degree  of  candour  and  impartiality  in  this  work,  which, 
for  a  churchman,  is  as  unusual  as  it  is  commendable.  The  author  has 
a  justifiable  partiality  for  his  own  church  and  the  tory  party,  of  which 
it  has  been  a  prominent  section  in  all  periods  of  English  history;  but 
this  preference  is  not  allowed  to  interfere  with  a  candid  and  honest 
statement  of  facts,  whether  they  bear  against  the  interest  and  charac- 
ter of  his  friends  or  are  favourable  to  that  of  his  opponents.  With  a 
just  admiration  of  excellence,  wherever  found,  and  a  love  of  fre-edom 
and  popular  rights,  he  looks  upon  the  whole  field  of  history  with  the 
impartial  comprehensiveness  of  an  historian,  rather  than  with  the  jeal- 
ous zeal  of  a  partisan,  or  the  exclusiveness  of  a  sectary.  He  eulogizes 
the  Reformation;  does  something  like  justice  to  the  character  of  the 
Puritans,  of  Cromwell,  and  the  Presbyterians;  admits  the  tyranny  of 
Laud,  the  weakness  and  selfishness  of  Charles,  and  the  violence  and 
irreligion  of  the  royalists  at  the  period  of  the  revolution." — New  York 
Evangelist. 

"  An  octavo  volume  of  352  pages,  accompanied  by  a  chronological 
and  genealogical  table  and  very  full  index.  It  is  a  work  of  real  merit, 
written  by  one  strongly  attached,  of  course,  to  the  church  of  which  he 
is  a  member,  but  apparently  no  bigot.  We  will  not  pretend  to  vouch 
for  all  his  opinions;  but  such  a  perusal  as  we  have  been  enabled  to  give 
to  his  writings,  convinces  us  that  he  is  sincere  in  them,  and  that  he  is 
honest  in  the  statement  of  facts.  His  references  are  numerous.  The 
religious  sentiments  which  he  expresses  in  the  progress  of  the  work 
are  evangelical  in  their  character ;  and  the  views  which  he  entertains 
of  Christians  of  other  persuasions  evince  a  charitable  spirit." — Baptist 
Advocate. 


(  14) 

"  This  book  has  particular  claims  on  the  attention  of  the  intelligent 
laity,  theological  students,  eind  the  younger  members  of  the  clergy,  and 
will  not  be  without  claims  on  the  elder  members  of  tliat  honourable 
profession. 

"  The  fact  that  this  work  embraces  the  history  of  the  English  church 
from  the  earliest  period  of  English  history  down  to  the  glorious  revo- 
lution of  16SS,  is  all  that  need  be  urged  in  favour  of  its  importance. 
The  style  is  easy  and  chaste ;  and  the  arrangement  of  numerical  sec- 
tions enables  the  reader,  by  looking  over  the  contents  of  a  chapter,  to 
find  at  once  the  particular  subject  of  his  inquiry.  As  a  book  of  refer- 
ence, its  value  is  much  increased  by  the  chronological  tables  and  a  co- 
pious index.  The  spirit  of  the  author  is  liberal  and  Christian.  It  is 
printed  in  double  columns ;  and  the  paper,  type,  &c.,  are  in  the  best 
style  of  the  publisher.'' — Baltimore  American. 


NEANBER'S  HISTORY  OF  THE  PLANTIN&  AND 

Training  of   the    Christian  Church   by  the  Apostles. 

Translated  from  the  third  German  edition,  by  J.  E.  Ryland. 

Svo.  pp.  335.— Cloth,  $1  50;  Sheep,  $1  75. 

["  The  author  has  gained  so  high  a  reputation  for  his  learning  in  the 
History  of  the  Church,  that  it  is  needless  to  say  his  works  may  always 
be  read  with  interest  and  profit.  His  peculiar  notions  as  to  Church 
government,  though  hostile  to  Episcopacy,  should  not  deter  from  the 
perusal  of  a  treatise  which  contains  much  sound  Biblical  criticism,  and 
presents  the  history  of  the  Apostolic  age  jn  that  full  detail  which  is  so 
necessary  to  its  just  comprehension.  Almost  every  page  bears  the 
mark  of  unwearied  research,  careful  thought,  and  profound  piety, 
and  while  it  can  be  expected  of  few  that  they  will  acquiesce  in  the 
correctness  of  all  his  conclusions,  yet  it  will  be  hard  to  rise  from  its 
perusal  without  having  exercised  useful  reflections  on  the  history  of 
the  development  of  Christianity  ;  an  unbounded  theme  for  philosophi- 
cal and  religious  contemplation." — Protestant  Churchman. 

"  This  is  a  true  history  of  a  very  important  period  in  the  Church. 
Its  author  is  one  of  the  most  celebrated  of  living  theologians,  and  his 
book  will  doubtless  be  heartily  welcomed  by  theological  readers.'' — 
N.  Y.  Courier. 

"  In  issuing  an  American  edition  of  this  celebrated  work,  the  enter- 
prising publisher  has  rendered  an  important  service  to  the  public, 
the  value  of  which  is  enhanced  by  the  excellent  style  in  which  it  ap- 
pears."— Christian  Observer. 

"  Some  of  the  author's  views  do  not  accord  with  our  own,  but,  in  the 
main,  we  are  much  pleased  with  the  work,  and  cheerfully  recommend 
it" — Baptist  Advocate. 


(  15) 

THE  HUGUENOT  CAPTAIN;  or,  the  life  of  Theodore 

Agrippa  D'Aubigne,  during  the  Civil  Wars  of  France^  in  the 
reigns  of  Charles  IX.,  Henry  IIL,  Henry  IV.^  and  the  majority 
nf  Louis  XUL  One  volume^  8vo. — Paper  cover,  25  cents. 
"This  is  a  handsome  pamphlet  of  120  octavo  pages.  It  contains 
the  autobiography  of  Theodore  Agrippa  DAubign^,  with  an  account 
of  the  most  remarkable  occurrences  during  the  civil  wars  of  France, 
in  the  reigns  of  Charles  IX.,  Henry  III.,  Henry  IV.,  and  the  minority 
of  Louis  XIII.  It  forms  a  highly  interesting  narrative,  which,  by 
those  who  can  appreciate  the  character  of  a  brave  and  honest  man, 
maintaining  his  integrity  and  his  principles  of  piety,  amid  contentions, 
in  the  face  of  all  the  arts  and  blandishments  of  courts,  and  at  the 
hazard  of  every  interest  and  life  itself,  will  be  read  with  pleasure. 
D'Aubigne  was  one  of  the  heroic  Huguenots,  whose  memory  it  is  but 
an  act  of  justice  to  rescue  from  oblivion.  Their  character  and  deeds 
are  worthy  of  an  imperishable  record.  Many  of  their  descendants,  in 
the  Southern  states,  are  distinguished  for  intelligence  and  piety,  and 
exert  an  important  influence  in  sustaining  the  best  interests  of  so- 
ciety."— ChrMiari  Observer. 


A  CHARSE,  BELIVEKEB  TO  THE  GLEHBY 

OF  THE  United  Dioceses  of  Ossory,  Ferns,  and  Leighlin, 
AT  his  Primary  Visitation  in  September,  1842.  By  .Tames 
Thomas  O'Brien,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  Ossory,  ^'c.  8vo. — 25 
cents. 

"To  all  interested  in  the  Tractarian  Controversy;  and  what  intelli- 
gent Protestant  is  notl  this  charge  of  Dr.  O'Brien  will  be  invaluable. 
The  author  is  well  known  to  be  one  of  the  most  learned  divines  of  the 
day,  and  '  the  Charge'  fully  sustains  the  high  reputation  which  Dr. 
O'Brien  had  acquired  by  his  earlier  publications.  It  is  a  standard  work, 
and  is  worthy  of  the  careful  examination  of  all  who  are  interested 
in  the  ditTusion  and  success  of  Protestant  or  Scriptural  principles.'' — 
Protestant  Banner. 

"Charge  to  the  Clergy. — "We  have  received  from  James  M. 
Campbell,  of  Philadelphia,  a  lucid  and  elaborate  exposition  of  the  na- 
ture and  dangerous  tendencies  of  Pu^eyism,  in  a  charge  delivered  by 
James  Thomas  O'Brien,  Bishop  of  Ossory,  Ferns,  and  Leighlin.  The 
pubUsher  deserves  the  thanks  of  the  community  for  republishing  this 
pamphlet.  The  Bishop  speaks  like  an  Episcopalian  ;  but  he  never- 
theless adopts  the  languai^e  of  our  common  Christianity,  not  that  of 
the  bigoted  Puseyite  and  Papist.  This  work  contains  the  best  history 
of  the  gradual  and  stealthy  introduction  of  Puseyism  which  we  have 
Been.  Its  advocates  seem"  to  have  deeply  studied  the  ' pious  frauds' 
of  Jesuitism.'' — Preshjjcriun  A'lvocatc. 


(16) 

THE  BIBLE  IN  SPAIN:  or,THE  journeys,  adventures, 
AND  Imprisonments  of  an  Englishman,  in  an  attempt  to 
Circulate  the  Scriptures  in  the  Peninsula.  By  George 
Borrow.  One  volume,  8yo. — In  cloth,  62^  cents  ;  paper  cover, 
37^  cents. 

"  So  great  has  been  the  demand  for  this  work,  that  the  present  edi- 
tion has  been  stereotyped.  It  has  been  pronounced  by  all  the  review- 
ers as  one  of  the  most  charming  books  of  the  day  ;  and  we  must  cer- 
tainly agree  with  them  in  this  particular.  It  is  written  in  a  style  of 
the  most  perfect  ease  and  elegance,  and  is  full  of  recountals  of  thrilling 
adventures  and  picturesque  descriptions.  Though  imbued  with  ge- 
nuine religious  feeling,  there  is  nothing  of  a  sectarian  character  in 
this  work;  but  it  is  rather  a  narration  of  the  authors  residence  and 
travels  in  all  parts  of  Spain,  during  the  five  years  in  which  he  was  the 
agent  of  the  English  Bible  Society  for  the  circulation  of  the  Scriptures 
in  the  Spanish  Peninsula. 

"  We  consider  Mr.  Borrow  as  an  author  of  the  highest  rank,  and  not 
merely  as  an  adventurer.  His  book  seems  to  us  to  be  one  of  the  most 
extraordinary  that  has  appeared  in  our  own  or  any  other  language  for 
a  long  time  past.  Indeed,  we  are  more  frequently  reminded  of  'Gil 
Bias,'  in  the  narrative  of  this  pious,  single-hearted  man,  than  in  the 
perusal  of  almost  any  modern  novelists  pages.  We  may  add,  that 
Mr.  Borrow  has  an  almost  irrepressible  love  of  humour,  great  enjoy- 
ment in  the  observation  of  character,  and  a  liking  for  adventure  ap- 
proached only  by  the  knights  of  fairy  tale.  Thus  sifted,  armed,  and 
accomplished,  he  wanders  through  the  wildest  scenery  of  the  most  ro- 
mantic of  all  lands,  Spain ;  living  with  such  as  he  may  chance  to  meet 
in  the  village  or  forest;  or  on  barren  sierra,  on  lonely  heath,  or  in  her 
Moorish  halls ;  and  amidst  the  lowe^  grades  of  her  crowded  but  im- 

{)overished  cities;  and  gathering  from  all,  he  brinijs  before  us  such 
iving  groups  as  few  of  us  have  seen,  even  in  pictures. 

"  The  former  work  of  Mr.  Borrow,  'The  Gipsies  of  Spain,'  although 
it  received  our  highest  praise,  and  however  much  we  had  reason  to  ex- 
pect from  any  subsequent  effort  of  the  writer,  we  were  certainly  not 
prepared  for  any  thing  so  striking  as  this  work.  Apart  from  its  ad- 
venturous interest,  its  literary  merit  is  extraordinary.  Never  was  a 
book  more  legibly  impressed  with  the  unmistakeable  marks  of  genius. 
W^e  cordially  recommend  this  book  to  the  public,  and  feel  sure  that 
they  will  agree  with  us  in  classing  it  as  one  of  the  most  agreeable,  en 
tertaining,  and  instructive  works  ever  published." — Athenae^um. 


MILNER'S  CHURCH  HISTORY.  The  His- 
TORT  OF  THE  Church  OF  Christ.  By  thc  Rkv.  Joseph  Milxer, 
A.  M. ;  with  Additions  and  Corrections,  by  the  Rev.  Isaac  Mil- 
der, D.  D.,  F.  R.  S.,  Dean  of  Carlisle,  and  President  of  Queeyi's 
College,  Cambridge.  From  the  last  London  editian.  Two  volumes, 
8t'o.— Sheep,  §4  50. 


(20) 

CONVERSATIONS  ON  THE  PARABLES 

OF  THE  New  Testament.    By  the  Rt.  Hon.  Lord  Stanley, 
From  iht  Fifth  London  edition. — In  Cloth,  37^  cents. 

"  This  is  a  small  work  designed  to  assist  parents  in  the  religious 
education  of  their  children.  It  is  written  in  a  free  and  easy  style,  and 
contains  a  very  just  delineation  of  the  parables  of  Christ,  happily 
adapted  to  the  capacity  of  children.  It  is  related  as  a  singular  evidence 
of  the  general  appreciation  of  the  book,  that  it  passed  through  several 
editions  before  the  public  knew  any  thing  of  its  autlior." — Richmond 
Christian  Advocate. 


THE  ABBEY  OF  IKNISMOYLE.  a  storv 

OF  ANOTHER  Century.  By  the  author  of  "  Father  Clement,''^ 
"  The  Decision,'''*  '^  Profession  not  Principle^''  ^c.  \%mo. — 
Price,  37^  cents,  cloth. 

"I  love  to  linger  in  the  narrow  field 
Of  rest  ;  to  wander  round  from  tomb  to  tomb, 
And  think  of  some  who  silent  sleep  alone." — Orahame. 

"  The  authorship  of  this  little  volume  is  a  sufficient  passport  to  pub- 
lic favour.  Those  who  have  read  the  former  works  of  the  gifted  au- 
thoress, will  not  be  disappointed  in  this." — Presbyterian. 

"  The  author  of  "  Father  Clement"  is  well  known  as  an  able  advo- 
cate of  truth,  and  an  interesting  writer,  whose  name  will  attract  the 
attention  of  many  readers  to  the  new  and  handsome  volume  which 
Mr.  Campbell  has  just  issued." — Christian  Observer. 

"  This  is  an  exceeding  interesting  little  book.  It  is  by  the  author  of 
*  Father  Clement  ;^  and  when  we  say  this,  we  give  to  all  who  are  ac- 
quainted with  that  work  the  strongest  proof  the  present  one  is  marked 
with  uncommon  ability.  We  have  often  said  that  we  consider  '  Father 
Clement'  unrivalled  in  that  line  of  composition." — Episcopal  Recorder. 


THE  CURATE  OF  LINWODD  :  or,  The  Real  strength 
OF  the  Christian  Ministry.  First  American  edition.  18mo. 
—Cloth,  37i  cents. 


(23) 


IE  GOBMENIN'S  HISTORY  OF  THE  POPES, 

From  the  first  to  the  nineteenth  Century.  Publishing 
in  numbers  of  96  pp.  8vo.,  to  be  complete  in  eight  or  nine  num- 
bers.— Price,  with  two  coloured  plates,  37^  cents ;  without 
plates,  25  cents  per  number. 

"De  Cormenin's  work  gives  us  in  a  popular  and  condensed  form,  a 
continuous  history  of  that  long  succession  of  Pontitfs  who  have  filled 
the  'Holy  See.'  As  a  work  of  mere  chronological  reference,  it  will  be 
found  to  be  one  of  great  value.  The  author  is  liimself  a  Roman  Catho- 
hc;  we  are  therefore  to  presume  that  he  has  written  such  a  work  ao 
cannot  be  accused  of  any  prescriptive  feeling.    We  therefore  feel  great 

gleasure  in  having  this  translation  laid  before  the  American  public, 
efore  it  has  appeared  even  in  England,  except  in  its  original  lan- 
guage. Its  pages  will  be  found  full  of  startling  incident,  narrated  with 
graphic  force;  it  not  only  affords  a  comprehensive  history  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  but  necessarily  involves  the  pohtical  history  of  the  world, 
for  the  power  of  Rome  was  at  one  time  interwoven  with  the  state 
policy  of  every  nation  in  Christendom.  As  its  narrative  emerges  from 
the  darkness  of  primitive  times  it  gathers  strengh  and  interest;  it  is 
invested  with  all  the  attributes  of  the  author's  genius,  and  has  Ihrouirh- 
out  a  healthy  tone  of  republican  fcelins:,  which  must  commend  it  to 
the  attention  of  every  American."' — Phita.  Gazette. 

"The  History  of  the  Popes  is  a  history  of  crime  in  its  highest  forms, 
and  is  the  best  commentary  which  can  be  furnished  on  the  true  charac- 
ter of  Popery ;  for  surely  we  may  judge  of  the  system  by  its  head. 
De  Cormenin  is  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  his  testimony  therefore  may  be 
relied  on,  and  awful  are  the  disclosures  he  makes.  The  edition  of 
Mr.  Campbell  will  commend  itself  to  favour." — Presbyterian. 

"  This  work  is  to  be  issued  in  numbers,  illustrated  with  engravings, 
and  contains  a  terrible  story  of  the  crimes  that  constitute  so  large  a 
part  of  the  history  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  It  will  doubtless  be  widely 
circulated,  and  will  aid  essentially  in  opening  the  eyes  of  the  people 
to  the  mystery  of  iniquity." — New  York  Observer. 

"  The  want  of  a  history  of  the  Popes  of  Rome,  at  once  complete, 
concise,  and  at  the  same  time  written  in  a  popular  style,  has  long  been 
felt  as  a  desideratum  in  our  language.  That  void  is  now  supplied  ; 
and  at  this  juncture,  when  the  struggle  of  the  Church  of  Rome  for  fu- 
ture power  has  been  transferred  from  Europe  to  our  own  land,  it  is 
desirable  that  such  a  book  be  placed  within  the  reach  of  all." — CAm- 
tian  Intelligencer. 


(33) 

PUBLISHING  IN  NUMBERS. 

SCOTT'S  COMMENTAKY  ON  THE  HOLY  BIBLE. 

Ji  quarto  edition.     From  the  London  Standard  edition,  with  the 

author'' s  last  corrections  and  improvements.     To  he  completed  in 

fifty  numbers. — Price  35  cents  each. 

"We  have  seen  no  edition  of  Scott  equal  to  this  in  typographical 
execution  ;  it  is  admirably  adapted  for  a  '  Family  Bible,'  to  last  through 
a  generation,  and  as  it  is  expected  to  make  fifty  numbers,  the  cost  will 
be  $12  50,  when  the  old  coitions  cost  from  $18  to  $25.  Some  other 
commentators  may  be  superior  to  Scott  in  a  knowledge  of  Eastern 
languages  and  an  application  to  the  laws  of  interpretation ;  while  he 
will  be  read  for  generations  for  his  sound  sense,  reverence  for  the  di- 
vine authority  of  the  scriptures,  and  his  unequalled  'Practical  Obser- 
vations.' " — Congregational  Journal. 

"  We  regard  it  as  superior  to  any  preceding  edition." — Preshijterinn. 

"As  a  convenient  readable  book,  for  the  aged  as  well  as  the  young, 
it  is  superior  to  every  other  edition  with  which  we  are  acquainted." — 
Christian  Observer. 

"  We  are  reioiced  at  the  publication  of  this  great  work,  not  only  be- 
cause of  its  excellence,  its  sound  theology,  and  practical  piety,  but 
also  because  the  style  of  the  work  is  just  what  it  should  be.  It  is  such 
a  satisfaction  to  have  the  Bible  in  large,  clear,  eleiiant  pages;  such  as 
the  copy  before  us.  Then  the  notes  too,  are  not  crowded  and  confused 
that  no  one  but  a  proof  reader  can  follow  them  ;  on  the  contrary,  they 
are  so  clear  and  plain,  that  any  one,  the  oldest  people,  that  can  read 
at  all,  may  read  them  with  ease  and  pleasure.  We  rejoice  most 
heartily  at  this  publication." — New  Orleans  Protestant. 

"  It  is  almost  superfluous  to  speak  of  the  character  and  merits  of 
Scott's  Commentary,  so  widely  known  and  so  highly  approved  by  the 
various  evangelical  denominations  both  in  our  own  country  and  in 
England.  It  gives  us  pleasure,  however,  on  this^rs^  occasion  pre- 
sented to  us  by  the  appearance  of  a  new  edition  of  the  work,  to  express 
our  opinion  of  its  value,  formed  after  an  extended  and  familiar  ac- 
quaintance with  English  commentators  on  the  Holy  Scriptures;  that 
for  all  purposes  which  christians  in  general  demand  of  a  commentary 
on  the  sacred  writings,  Scott's  stands  as  yet  unrivalled  in  our  language. 
The  present  edition,  for  which  the  public  will  be  indebted  to  the  en- 
terprize  of  Mr.  Campbell,  is  in  a  large  quarto  form,  on  excellent  paper, 
and  on  large  and  clear  type,  which,  as  regards  the  notes  and  practical 
observations,  is  of  no  little  importance,  in  a  work  of  daily  use.  We 
hope  Mr.  C.  will  receive  a  patronage  for  his  meritorious  enterprize, 
which  will  justify  the  issue  of  a  large  edition." — Richmond  Christian 
Advocate. 


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